Until the End of the World
by anonymouse13
Summary: Four years in the future, the flock is caught in the midst of a tragedy that will affect the whole world. And this time, they might not make it out alive. Includes fax, but there's also a plot. Rated for deaths, dark themes, and mild gore. Chapter 18 up!
1. Prologue

Fang was dying, but he didn't care. He'd always know he'd be the last one, the last of the flock. Somehow, he'd held off death to take care of them, until the end of the world, but now they were gone. Fang was dying, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

As he sank to his knees in the rubble, it occurred to him that he didn't even know how it had started. He supposed someone had said something careless to someone else, so someone else had dropped a couple bombs on a few thousand innocent people. And it had all exploded from there. Literally. During Fang's short school career, his history teacher had wondered if the earth could survive another world war. Turns out it couldn't, and Max wasn't around to save it anymore.

The dust and debris seemed to be drowning him, and his breaths came is short, agonized gasps. Black fog had settled around the edges of his vision, and Fang wondered passively if he was losing his eyesight. Blindness would be welcome at this point. For all of Iggy's troubles, he hadn't seen the things that would scar Fang for the rest of his life, however long or short that was going to be. Blood gushing through thin blond hair, glassy eyes staring through him in death, the sickly gray shad of Max's sunken cheeks during the last days.

Fang lay still for a while; he no longer cared to notice the time passing. It was silent except for the sputtering sound of his own breathing. It was as though he was the only person left in the world. Maybe he was. It doesn't matter, he reminded himself. Nothing matters. Nothing. Nothing…

It suddenly occurred to Fang that he was cold. He remembered Max shivering, clutching at her arms in a fruitless effort to stay warm. Her mind had wandered near the end, but she had made him promise one thing, one thing that had kept Fang here until the very end. The end of the world. To the smoking ruins and the charred wood, the blackened metal, burning bare skin.

He wondered how much longer Fate was going to keep him here, how much longer it cared to torture him. He had fulfilled his promise, his purpose. The ones who had anchored him to this world had left him. There was nothing left.

Alone in the ruins of his world, Fang closed his eyes and let go.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so it's short. Not sure what I'm going to do with this yet. I might go back to what led up to this point, and make this chaptered. Or it could just be a one shot. Let me know what you think. 


	2. Relative Peace

**Disclaimer:** I just realized I've been forgetting these. Whoops. So, I don't own anything at all. (That should cover it.)

_A few months earlier:_

**Max POV

* * *

**

_Max?_ said a small voice in my head. I just about jumped a foot, inhaling sharply.

"Angel?" I whispered.

_Shh, Max. It's very quiet in here. I don't want to wake anyone up._

I sighed deeply, still spooked. _Sorry, sweetie,_ I thought. _You scared me is all. I didn't know you were awake. What's up? _I could see her eyes open in the darkness, but she didn't move from her position on the floor. That girl scares me sometimes. A lot of the time, actually.

_I can't sleep._

_Why not?_

Her blue eyes widened. _I… I heard… People are thinking bad thoughts. _

Whitecoats? Erasers? Years of paranoia flooding my veins as my heart rate pounded. I tensed, ready to jump to my feet, shout at the flock, and get the heck out of there.

_No, No._ Angel interjected forcefully. _Nobody from the school. Or Itex. They're just… bad people._ There was a pause. _Full of hate. _

I relaxed slightly, breathing in and out steadily. _Are they going to do something bad? Hurt anyone?_

_I don't think so. It's just… it's not right._

_A lot of things aren't right. You know that. How do you think you ended up with _wings

_I know._

_Go to sleep. Everything's fine._

She hesitated, but gave in. _Okay._

My head was silent for a short, blissful while. I was just starting to slip back into the Zen-like state I adopted for keeping watch when I was interrupted yet again.

_Max?_

_Angel!_ My heart was pounding again.

_Sorry. But…_

_Yes?_

_Can we go to the zoo tomorrow?_

Thank god it was dark, or I may have been subjected to the dreaded Bambi eyes. Of course, she could just manipulate my mind...

_I wouldn't do that._

_Angel… Can't we talk about it later? As in, not in the middle of the night while I'm trying to keep watch. Anyways, you know perfectly well how I feel about zoos._

_You don't have to go._

I thought about this. True, Nudge was 15, and she could take the younger kids if she wanted to.

_Oh, thank you Max!_

_Wait, I didn't- _I sighed again. Ten-year-olds were exhausting. Especially when they could read your mind. Angel beamed at me. _Never mind,_ I thought, directing my thoughts at her now._ Just go to sleep. And don't scare me like that again._

_Okay. Good night._

_Night._

I leaned back against a wooden cabinet, checking our surroundings to make sure that nothing lethal had sneaked in while I had been distracted. We were sleeping in the kitchen of the bakery where Iggy worked during the day. The store was relatively low-tech, so a simple lock pick was all that we needed to beat the security system. And Ig, to operate the lock pick. Lately he'd been trying to teach Gazzy, with mixed results.

We had to stay in the kitchen, since it was the only part of the store with no windows. The tile floor was hard and cold, and the manager turned off the heat at night; but, hey, it was relatively warm and relatively safe, and that's all that matters in the long run. After all, it beat sleeping in the subway.

I had about a half hour of watch left when I heard a rustling noise and a cold hand touched my shoulder. It took all of my self control not to let out scream that would wake the entire block. I whirled around.

It was Fang. Was _everyone _trying to give me a heart attack tonight? He smirked at my panicked face.

"Shut up," I hissed.

"I didn't say anything."

"You are so infuriating," I informed him, not that he seemed to care. "It's still my watch," I said. "What do you want?"

"You're jumpy tonight," Fang said, completely ignoring my question.

"Yeah, well, when Angel feels the need to randomly talk, in your _head_, in the middle of the night, it's a bit unsettling."

"What'd she want?"

"Just something about bad people thinking bad thoughts. Nothing extraordinary."

"Nothing concerning…"

"No School, no Itex, no Erasers. It's fine."

"You sure?"

"We're in New York City, Fang. It's not exactly filled with saints."

He raised an eyebrow, and I glowered at him. Not responding, he stared back at me. My face colored and I looked away.

"Get some sleep," he muttered. "It's almost my watch anyway."

I nodded, getting up and walking quietly over towards the rest of the flock. Lying down, I rested my cheek against the cool white tile and shut my eyes, but I wanted to jump up and scream and punch something. For the past four years of peace, moving from place to place like a nomad, I'd always had a restless feeling inside of me, and Angel's worries had brought it to the surface.

There was no way I was going to fall asleep any time soon, so after a while I silently got to my feet and walked back over towards Fang. I sat down next to him and leaned against the cabinets. He didn't say anything, just shifted closer so our legs were touching.

We sat there, in the silence, for a long time.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much to the five people who reviewed, who are: moongoddess286, anonymous reviewer "Uh," which is a very interesting name, by the way, bloodsack, barigirl1, and senoritasophia13. Thank you. Reviews make me very happy. Ridiculously happy, actually. Oh and, Sophia, laughing was not one of the responses I had in mind while writing the prologue. Come on now, it wasn't that bad? Was it? 

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review. Thanks!


	3. Ordinary

**Disclaimer:** Let's focus on the prefix _dis_ now... It means that I don't own this.

* * *

Nudge smiled to herself as she walked down the sidewalk, Angel and Gazzy in tow. She grinned at a girl in a pretty purple shirt who passed by. The girl met her eyes briefly, looked confused, and smiled tentatively. Nudge liked to think that she could tell how nice a person was by smiling at them. If someone smiled back, then they were a nice, happy person. If they didn't, well, that was their problem. 

A man in a brown jacket hurried towards her, looking nervous. She beamed at him. He frowned and looked down, but that didn't dampen Nudge's spirits. She was in charge, Max trusted her, _and_ when they got to the zoo she was going to buy cotton candy. What could possibly be any better? Well, maybe if she bought cotton candy _and_ popcorn.

Her charges were not nearly as enthusiastic. "So," said Gazzy, speeding up to walk next to her, "why are _you_ taking us?"

Nudge rolled her eyes disdainfully. "Because," she said slowly, "Iggy's at work, and he and Max and Fang don't like zoos anyway."

Gazzy nodded, still looking skeptical.

"Especially Max," Angel added helpfully as they stopped at a crosswalk. There was a short pause, during which all three of them recalled their last visit to the zoo, which had ended memorably with Max throwing up on the informational plaque outside of the avian exhibit.

"But Max never lets us split up, not ever," Gazzy reasoned.

Angel smirked.

"You didn't," Nudge said accusingly, turning towards the younger girl, her mood falling slightly. She'd thought Angel was over _that_ kind of persuasion.

"No, no, not like that." Angel looked insulted. "I wouldn't do that, not anymore. I know better. I'm not some stupid little girl."

"You were never a stupid little girl, Angel," said Nudge reassuringly, smiling again. She'd picked up some motherly techniques from Max. The 'walk' light turned on and they started across the street. "Just a little… freaky."

"Gee, thanks," said Angel sarcastically. She'd also picked up a few habits from their leader.

"How _did_ you convince her? I mean, if you didn't use… you know," Gazzy asked.

"Bothered her when she was tired. She'll say yes to anything to get you to leave her alone."

Nudge mentally tucked away that piece of information for future use.

* * *

I wrung my hands nervously. What had I been thinking? The flock shouldn't split up. It was bad enough that we had to leave Iggy in the bakery for five hours every day, but letting the younger kids go off on their own? I imagined what could happen to them. They could get kidnapped and held for ransom. They could get run over by a car. They could get mugged in a dark alley. They could- 

"_Stop_ that, will you?" said Iggy, annoyed. We were sitting on a bench in the park for a little while before Iggy had to go to work, since it looked pretty wierd to the owners if we just waited outside for them to come and open, like, _No, of course we didn't spend the night in your shop. What ever gave you that idea?_ Yes, we're very subtle.

"You can't even see me," I retorted. "How could you possibly know what I'm doing?"

"You're practically radiating nervous vibes. I'd guess that you're either wringing your hands-"

"No I'm not," I said guiltily.

"-or biting your nails."

I suddenly became very aware of the fact that I was doing just that and quickly stopped.

"So, was I right?" Iggy asked.

"Yes," said Fang, just as I opened my mouth to say no. I glared at him, which didn't seem to have an effect.

"Don't you have to work soon?" I shot at Iggy, since glaring had even less an effect on him that it did on Fang.

"Since I'm the only one of us who can hold down a job… yes."

I ground my teeth together. "That was _not_ my fault."

Iggy grinned. He loved tormenting me. "I don't see how you could break someone's nose, give them two black eyes, and break two ribs, _unintentionally_."

"He deserved it."

"Yeah, sure. Well, I'll see you guys later." And he walked away before I could even come up with a retort. I turned to Fang for sympathy, but he seemed to be laughing.

"He _did_ deserve it," I said defensively. "He called me a-"

"I've heard," he cut me off, "but I still think that the ribs was going… overboard."

"Well… that was actually a mistake."

He stared at me for a second, and then we were laughing.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hm... I think I may be better at death and destruction than I am at the normal stuff. Oh well. That's coming up soon. cackles Now, on to reviews... There weren't as many this time, but thanks to Sophia and to aradiea (I hope I spelled that right. I really tried.). If more people review this chapter, I may be more ahem _motivated_ to write the next one. Thanks :) 


	4. Rupture

**Disclaimer:** If I actually owned Maximum Ride, I'd probably have better things to do with my time.

* * *

"Angel, what color do you want?" Nudge asked. Angel tilted her head and peered up the rows of cotton candy hanging from the side of the cart. 

"Uh… pink."

"One pink," Nudge told the cashier, turning back to Gazzy and Angel. "Gazzy?"

"Blue," he said without hesitation.

"One blue, and, um…a purple." Nudge had never seen purple cotton candy before, and she wondered if it tasted as good as the pink or blue kind.

_They all taste the same_, Angel reminded her. Nudge jumped at the sudden internal noise. The cashier stared, pausing slightly before handing her Angel and Gazzy's choices. Nudge doled them out, watching their faces light up. Angel licked her lips at the sight of her treat. The glob of pink fluff was easily the size of her head.

Nudge paid, took her own cotton candy, and led Angel and Gazzy over towards the animals.

"Oh, let's go look at the flamingos!" Angel gushed.

"Why?" asked Gazzy. "Because they're pink?"

"No," said Angel, rolling her eyes. "Because I _like_ them."

"Stop it, you two," said Nudge. They stopped.

"Whoa," she said. "I told you to stop, and you _stopped_. You _listened_ to me. That is so cool! No wonder Max likes being leader, you get people to listen to you! Like, if I told you that we were going to see the flamingos first, then we would, and if I said the lizards, then we would do that!"

Angel stared. "Yeah," she said simply.

"So where are we going?" asked Gazzy.

"Um… the lions. They're at the beginning, so it makes sense that we would start there, you know. Like if we started at the end, that would be stupid. So we're starting at the beginning." She set off towards the lions.

Angel and Gazzy looked at each other with their eyebrows raised, but they followed her.

The lions were sleeping in their cave, so it was hard to see them. Nudge didn't blame them for hiding. Maybe it was warm in there. It was certainly cold here. All of the leaves had fallen off the trees and it was probably going to snow soon. Nudge thought that snow was pretty, but it was cold. And that was never a good thing.

The gazelles stared at her with wide eyes. Nudge wondered what they thought about the fact that they were so close to the lions. Was that why they looked scared? Or did they just not like the people peering in?

The monkeys seemed happy; they screeched to each other and darted around animatedly as they swung through the trees. One of them stood behind the glass and started at Nudge. It was silent for a while, but then it burst out into cackling laughter. Nudge wondered if it knew what she was. Human, but animal. Nature wasn't supposed to work that way. The monkey laughed an laughed, pointing a surprisingly human finger at her.

Nudge was just starting to wonder if maybe _this_ was why the older kids didn't like zoos, when Angel tugged at her arm. She and Gazzy had been oblivious to Nudge's discomfort, but now the younger girl looked frantic.

_We have to get out of here._ Gazzy jumped, and Nudge knew that Angel was speaking to him too.

"Okay," Nudge said out loud, but softly, so only Angel and Gazzy could hear her. "We'll go back and try to find Max and Fang, I gue-"

_No. Up. Out of the city. Now. I'll warn the others. _

"You mean," Nudge whispered, lowering her voice further as the grimness of the situation sunk in. "You mean, in the sky, with…"

_With wings. Trust me._

Nudge nodded. Gazzy's eyes were wide. The three of them took off their jackets quickly, looking around, nervous.

And then they unfurled their wings.

* * *

The city looked dark. The sun hadn't come out from behind the clouds in almost a week, and it left a dreary sense in the air. The wind had picked up today; leaves blew frantically through the streets like they were running from an unseen enemy. 

But I couldn't see that from the air. Fang and I were flying along the outskirts of the city. There was no real purpose to what we were doing, which was starting to frustrate me. We'd been going for so long, from place to place, with no objective. As much as it was nice to know that we weren't in any specific danger, it had gotten kind of boring. It turned us into sad, pathetic runaways instead of mutants trying to save the world.

I would have said all this to Fang, but he knew already. We both felt the same way, but talking about it made it more real, somehow. We were fine in the silence; it wasn't awkward, for us. If there wasn't anything to say, there wasn't any reason to talk. I'd been trying to teach Nudge that for years.

A gust of wind threw me slightly off track, and I glanced over at Fang. It was nice to know that he was there. After he'd left, four years ago, I was always nervous about losing him again. About losing any of us. Which was probably why I was so nervous now. They were just going to the freaking zoo. If I wanted to, I could fly over the place and watch them walking around. Hey! That was a good idea. I opened my mouth to share it with Fang, but something cut me off.

_Max, Fang, Iggy_, came Angel's voice, fast and frantic. Fang and I looked at each other, tense. _Guys, get out of the city. We're coming. We-_

And then everything exploded.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, here it comes... As therealme1123 put it, blood and gore! The plot will hopefully pick up from here. Thanks to ElvinDragon, RippedIntoPieces, AsanteSanaSquashBanana (Great name! I love the Lion King!), FightingRose, senoritasophia13, Kim-Chan6606, Scarrlet Fang Limit the First (another great name), bitten-by-luv, and therealme1123 for reviewing!

I've noticed that there are a lot of hits on this story but not a lot of reviews, so... **This story needs to have 25 reviews before I update again.** Sorry guys, but that's not really that much, only 7 more. So if you read this, _please_ review! It really means a lot to me. Even if you didn't like it. Tell me why. **Thank you**, and I'm going to go do my homework now. Bye!


	5. Aftershock

**Disclaimer:** Why do I have to put these things on every chapter? I. Don't. Own. This.

* * *

_And then everything exploded._

There was a loud noise, louder than anything Iggy or the Gasman had ever managed to create. Fang instinctively reached out to grab my arm, and then we were thrown backwards by a wall of force. My winds crumpled suddenly and painfully against my back. Everything around me was gray and smoky; my ears were ringing from the noise. Fang's hand was tight around my arm, and he pulled me closer to him so we wouldn't separate as we were flung through the air.

Panic set in as we whipped back uncontrollably. _ANGEL!_ I screamed in my mind, but I couldn't even hear myself thinking, much less her response. If there was one.

The wind howled through my ears and my eyes were quenched shut, stinging with dust. Sharp pieces of metal and glass whipped against my skin; I gasped and clutched Fang's arm tighter.

Then we were falling. My wings felt like huge slabs of pain, and I didn't even make an effort to fly. My eyes were still closed, but I could feel how fast we were going. _I'm going to die_, I realized passively. _We're all going to die._

And then Fang shot his wings out, still holding me up. I could practically hear the pain as his wing joints overextended slightly, then cracked back into place. We slowed, but didn't stop, hitting the unforgivable ground abruptly.

We landed side by side in the dirt. My wings throbbed with a sharp, piercing pain; I pictured them mangled and broken.

My brain was a mess of emotions, but the first coherent thought I had was of the rest of my flock. _ANGEL! _I thought again, filling the feeling with as much urgency as I could. There was nothing. Nothing.

"Max?" Fang asked cautiously, as disheveled as I'd ever heard him, considering we'd just been through an explosion. I managed a sort of grunt in return, cracking my eyes open to reassure him that I was alive. I could hear him slowly and purposefully raise into a sitting position.

I took a deep, experimental breath and coughed painfully. Fang glanced at me, alarmed. "'s just the dust," I whispered, my voice cracking. I didn't sit up. _ANGEL!_ I tried again.

"You're calling for her, aren't you?" Fang said softly. I nodded, still lying on my side in the dust.

"Nothing," he said, reading the look on my face. It wasn't a question.

"Nothing," I rasped.

He nodded, eyes blank, and we sat there in silence while black smoke billowed above our heads. Then Fang seemed to spring into action.

"Can you sit up?" he asked.

Well. I thought that I could sit up, if I wanted to. But I couldn't quite summon the energy to do much of anything. "Don't want to," I muttered, turning my face towards the ground. Without my flock to take care of, I was useless.

Fang gently gripped my shoulders and lifted me into a sitting position. I raised my head to look at his face. His hair was… windblown, to put it mildly, and his face was bloodied from a cut above his eye.

"Okay," he said, pulling out his backpack. Fang always had his backpack, thank god. And his backpack always had our first aid kit. I guess paranoia pays off, eventually.

He rolled up the sleeve of my sweatshirt, exposing a deep gash. Now that I thought about it, my arm was throbbing.

"Could need stitches," he said concisely. I winced at the thought. "I'll just wrap it up for now," he decided, looking up at me for confirmation. I nodded slightly, but it all seemed far away. Had the flock gotten away? What about Iggy, at work?

I cringed as Fang rinsed the cut with alcohol. Had it even been possible for them to get out of the city that quickly? Had Fang and I only survived because we'd been in the air, away from the explosion?

"They could have gotten out," said Fang, wrapping my arm in gauze. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"You think?" My voice was louder this time, but still close to a whisper.

He looked at me, and for once his eyes weren't shielded. I saw the doubt clouding them, the sorrow, and the hope. But most of all I knew that he was lying for me. Angel's voice in our heads had cut off with the explosion, and she hadn't made contact since. I saw in Fang's eyes that he thought it was over.

Then he tugged at the gauze, tying it tightly, and the moment was over.

* * *

Nudge opened her eyes. Everything around her was dark. Her entire body felt as though it had been flattened, like in the cartoons she used to watch on TV. A wide-eyed Gazzy was leaning over her, and Angel seemed to be sleeping at her side.

Wordlessly, Nudge rolled onto her side, every muscle in her body protesting. She reached her hand under Angel's chin and placed two fingers by the side of her neck.

There was a pulse.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This was more difficult to write than I thought it would be, so sorry if it's not so great, in addition to not being very long. I had to update since so many people reviewed! Thanks to senoritasophia13, mfinga12, anon, missCeilidh, RippedIntoPieces, Monkey-is-the-magic-word, Kristin, Sylent-blue-wings, and catwithabook for reviewing. I really appreciate it.

So... someone asked me what happened to Total. The truth is, I don't particularly enjoy Total's character, and he's even more obnoxious when I try to write him. I'm just going to say that, tragically, Total expired about 3 years prior to the events in this story, much to the heartbreak of the flock, Angel most of all. By this time, though, they've pretty much gotten over it. Sorry- I'm heartless.

As for any potential faxness... What do you think?

**I'll update again after there are a total of 35 reviews.** There are 27 right now, so that shouldn't take too long. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!


	6. Isolation

**Disclaimer:** I own Maximum Ride! All three of them, actually, in their original hardcover binding. I don't like the paperback; they look like cheap grocery store novels. Actually, I saw them in the grocery store once, in paperback...

* * *

_Nudge opened her eyes. Everything around her was dark. Her entire body felt as though it had been flattened, like in the cartoons she used to watch on TV. A wide-eyed Gazzy was leaning over her, and Angel seemed to be sleeping at her side. _

_Wordlessly, Nudge rolled onto her side, every muscle in her body protesting. She reached her hand under Angel's chin and placed two fingers by the side of her neck._

_There was a pulse._

Nudge took a deep, relieved breath. Angel was alive; all of them were. How? She searched her mind for a memory, for an explanation.

She remembered unfurling her wings at the zoo. The people had stared, and she had had an overwhelming feeling that this was _wrong_. Max would never have let them show their wings in public. They had flown away quickly, there had been a loud, sudden sound, Angel had grabbed her hand, and then… Nothing. She knew nothing.

"Nudge?" Gazzy's voice broke the silence jarringly. He stared at her fearfully, kneeling by Angel's unconscious body, and Nudge sat up straighter. Max had said that she was in charge, and that applied until they found Max again. Nudge swallowed nervously, wondering if Angel's warning had reached the others in time.

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, Gaz?" She tried her best to sound in control.

Gazzy opened his mouth, and then shut it again. "I… How…" he tried again, but seemed unable to put his question into words. Nudge had never suffered from that problem, and she didn't hesitate to fill the space.

"Where are we? What happened? How did we get here? Where are Max and Fang and Iggy? Are they even-"

Here, Gazzy's eyes filled with tears and Nudge stopped guiltily. She was supposed to be the strong one. She was supposed to be fierce and calm. How did Max do it? Nudge swallowed again.

"Sorry," she apologized. A single tear ran down Gazzy's cheek, leaving a watery streak on his dirt-covered face. "It's okay," Nudge said, steadying her voice. "Everything's going to be fine." Gazzy nodded, biting his lip.

"Is Angel going to wake up?" He asked, sounding very young.

Nudge took a deep breath. "Of course she is. I did, right?" Gazzy nodded. Nudge inched closer to Angel, conscious of every individual ache in her body. And there were an awful lot of them.

She stared at Angel's face. Her tangled blond hair was streaked with dirt and- Nudge's heart began to beat faster- blood. Panicking again, she ran her hand through Angel's hair, searching for the injury. She found it quickly- a small cut on the right side of her scalp. It had stopped bleeding except for a few tiny drops of red. Nudge let out a deep breath, surveying the rest of Angel's body. Nothing else seemed to be wrong. She lay there serenely; she could have been asleep.

"Okay," Nudge told Gazzy bracingly. "She's not hurt too bad. I'm going to try to wake her up now."

"Angel," Nudge breathed, touching the girl's shoulder softly. She was struck by how very small Angel looked, though she was tall for a 10-year-old. "Angel," she said again, louder this time. No response.

"Nudge?" Gazzy asked, sounding as if he was going to cry again.

"Don't worry, Gaz. It'll be okay." Nudge shook Angel's shoulders delicately, not wanting to hurt her. She looked so fragile, just laying there. Nudge checked her pulse again. It was steady.

Nudge sighed hopelessly, on the verge of tears herself. She laid her hand gently on Angel's cheek. It was warm, but not like she had a fever; it was warm like _life_.

_You have to wake up_, Nudge thought desperately. _We need you_.

Angel's pinky twitched ever so slightly, but then it was as though she hadn't moved at all. Nudge's eyes welled up; she brushed them quickly before she could cry. She had to be strong now. She was the leader.

Gazzy's lip trembled, and tears spilled silently onto his cheeks.

"Shh," Nudge urged him, not sure how to handle the emotional aspect of leadership. "Don't worry."

"Angel," he choked out. Nudge shifted again so that she was sitting next to him. She took both of his hands in her own.

"Look at me," she said, more harshly than she had intended. Gazzy looked up suddenly.

"Your sister is going to be fine," Nudge said, her voice quavering only slightly. "I promise."

"But…"

"I promise," Nudge said again, more firmly.

"And we'll find Max and Fang and Iggy?" he pressed.

"Of course. And Max will know what to do. Everything will be fine."

Gazzy nodded bravely. Nudge could tell that he believed her. But Nudge wasn't sure if she believed herself.

* * *

_Previously:_

When it happened, Angel had been faced with a split second decision.

She wasn't sure if she could do it. Her powers had been evolving at an alarming rate since she'd been about six, but to try this would be the most risky thing she'd ever done with her mind.

If it went wrong, which was more than likely, it would hurt them. Despite the moral issues she'd faced as a younger child, she had never wanted to hurt anyone. But if she didn't do it, they would all get hurt anyone, maybe even die.

This was her dilemma: action or no action. Either way, the outcome wasn't pretty. But one way, there was a tiny sliver of chance that it would end up alright. And so she decided.

It would hurt her.

All of this went on in Angel's mind in less than a second. She grabbed Nudge and Gazzy's hands in her own, and then she moved her mind- away from the explosion, away from the danger.

And they moved with her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter. I hope this chapter was dark and depressed enough for all of you crazy people, particularly RippedIntoPieces, who asked me, and I quote, to "keep up the depression thing." If you're interested in depressing things, you should check out the oneshot I wrote, "Colorblind." It's full of depression. Yay! 

Therealme1123 and I came up with this lovely idea to protest low quality fanfiction. Our war cry is "blood and gore!" Tee hee.  
**If you'd like to join the protest against crappy, sappy romance fics in which little to no attention is paid to grammar/editing/etc., copy this into your profile and add your name to the list: anonymouse13, therealme1123  
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Thanks to therealme1123, RippedIntoPieces, tatasmitty, senoritasophia13, Ozymandyas, and nameless (that name, or lack thereof, kind of freaks me out, by the way) for reviewing. I really appreciate the feedback. If there's anything I can work on to make this better, please let me know. Thanks!

So... I updated even though I got one less review than I wanted, basically because I was bored and wanted to post another chapter. I'm not going to set a limit here, but **if I don't start getting more reviews, this story will be updated very _slowly_.** That is all.


	7. Broken

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, but I do own the plot! (evil laugh) (hides from lawyers)

* * *

When Fang had finished dealing with my vast collection of cuts and bruises, I forced him to clean the cut on his forehead, and another on the side of his leg. I still felt like a vat of emptiness in terms of emotion, but, hey, if he was going to take care of me, it didn't hurt to return the favor. 

As he busied himself cataloging our supplies, I stretched my wings out gingerly. A sharp pain shot out from my shoulder blades and I inhaled sharply. Fang turned his head and looked at me; I waved my hand noncommittally. When he had returned to counting band-aids, I gritted my teeth and slowly folded my wings in. My eyes watered with the pain.

It would be better soon, I convinced myself. And if it wasn't, it didn't really matter. On the outskirts of this wasteland that had once been a city, missing four of the flock, I didn't really feel the need to fly. I could sit here and slowly turn to dust for all I cared.

Fang had finished with our medical supplies and was now going through his store of food. I had always teased him about carrying so much junk with him at all times, but now it was starting to seem increasingly convenient. Currently, he seemed to be removing a large selection of rotted fruit.

I was still focused on the flock. Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel had been together. Angel had known about the explosion far enough in advance to send out a warning, but her voice had cut off mid-sentence. I didn't want to think about what that could mean. Iggy had been in the center of the city, working. Fang and I had only survived because we'd been flying by the outskirts. How could Ig have gotten out in time?

My reverie was interrupted by an overripe peach landing in my lap. I looked at Fang blankly. "Hungry?" he asked, a rare smile playing on his lips.

I examined the peach. It was swollen, seeping juice, and giving off an overly sweet stench.

"I was kidding," Fang said quietly.

This simple exchange seemed to pull emotion into my body, and suddenly I was angry, scared, exhausted, and devastated all at once.

"What makes you think that this is an appropriate time for _kidding_?" I asked, pouring all of my newfound feelings into one sentence. This was not nearly as impressive as it sounds: my voice was tired, quavering, and pathetic, with just a spark of anger swirled into the mixture.

Fang knelt next to me, laying his hand lightly on my shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just-"

"You just _what_, Fang?" I brushed away his hand and stood suddenly. He looked up at me from the ground.

I continued. "The rest of the flock is missing, maybe even dead, and you're playing jokes? We should be doing something! We should…" Here I trailed off, unsure of exactly what we should be doing.

Fang rose slowly, as if he was afraid I might start yelling again. He took a few tentative steps toward me and then folded me into his arms. As always, it took a few seconds for him to relax, but his shoulder softened and I buried my face in the fabric of his sweatshirt. I didn't cry- I had learned to control my emotions over the years. Fang's hand grazed over my wing joints, and I flinched involuntarily at the burst of pain.

"What's wrong?" he asked suddenly.

I mumbled incoherently into his shoulder. He ran his hand over my shoulder blades again, more purposefully, and I failed to suppress my reaction. Fang pushed me away gently so that he could look at my face, silently demanding an explanation.

"It's nothing."

"Max…" he persisted.

"I… When, you know, it… _happened_…" He nodded, understanding that I meant the explosion. "Well…"

"Max," he said again, warning me.

"My wings kind of folded against me the wrong way and they hurt," I blurted out quickly.

"Could you repeat that?"

I told him again, slowly, watching the concern etch itself onto Fang's face as I spoke. My words sounded pathetic and childish to my own ears.

"Let me see," he said, his voice tense. I took off my jacket, careful not to brush my wings with the fabric. I hadn't folded them all of the way back in, just tucked them loosely between the fabric of my shirt and my coat. I extended them slightly, gritting my teeth against the discomfort.

Fang stood behind me. I couldn't see his face, and he was quiet, but there was a sort of uneasiness in the air. His hand squeezed my shoulder gently. It was meant to be reassuring, but the idea that he felt the need to reassure me just made me worry more.

"Fang?" I asked, hearing the edge in my own voice.

He didn't say anything, just ran his hand lightly from my shoulder down my arm, over and over again. I began to think that maybe I hadn't said anything at all; that I was just imagining things. Now that I thought about this, nothing seemed real. The ruins, the black smoke, the pain… What if it was all in my head? I wished I could just open my eyes and be in the bakery, surrounded by my sleeping flock; I wished this would just all be a bad dream.

But then a burst of pain flooded my body again. It started at my shoulder blades, where my wings were joined with my back, and shot to the tips of wings and down my spine. There was no way I was dreaming. Pain is real.

"Fang?" My voice was stronger.

"Something's broken."

I suddenly felt very cold. I tucked my shaking hands under my arms to warm them.

"I doubt I could set a wing," Fang said, sounding defeated. "I don't know what I _could_ do."

"I'm cold," I mumbled.

Fang handed me my jacket, and I could see that his hands were stained with my blood. I folded my wings back in as tightly as I could without straining them and slid my arms into the sleeves. Despite the extra layer, I was still shaking. My numb hands fumbled with the zipper.

I could feel Fang watching me and I looked up at him, seeing the pity in his eyes. He pulled me closer to him and zipped my jacket with his own steady hands. Traitorous tears blurred my vision as he wrapped his arms around me for the second time. I still shivered as he held me, but I didn't cry.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry this took so long, but I was gone for a while and then I had a lot of homework and _then_ I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with Max and Fang while I held the other three in suspense... I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm doing next, so it shouldn't take as long for me to update again. I hope all you faxness lovers liked this chapter... But there's blood and gore in there too. 

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: RippedIntoPieces, Scarrlet Fang Limit the First, disneydork, therealme1123, DieMFDie, FlamingFlie, aradiea, Angel of the Black Death, unknown, and senoritasophia13!

To anyone who want more of the depressing romance stuff, I have a oneshot up called The Rift which I'm actually quite proud of. It also contains blood and gore and angst and all of that good stuff. And it's much better than my last oneshot (Colorblind).

Thanks for reading, **please review**, or I might not update for a _really _loooong time...


	8. Awakening

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Maximum Ride, Jeb would not be the Voice and Doctor Martinez would not be Max's mother. Oh, and the new cover wouldn't be so ugly (check Fang's blog if you haven't seen it).

* * *

_You have to wake up._ Nudge's voice was the first thing Angel heard as she slipped back into consciousness. Nudge's hand rested on her cheek. Angel was laying on some kind of hard, uneven ground. She opened her eyes to further explore their surroundings. 

But her eyes didn't open. It was as though her eyelids were made of stone, or glued down, or sewn shut. _Open,_ she urged her eyelids, feeling slightly silly at needing to command herself to do something so very simple. Nothing happened.

_We need you,_ said Nudge's voice, sounding desperate. Angel tried to move her hand, to reach out and help, but nothing happened except for a taunting twitch of her fingers. Nudge sighed and turned away.

Now Angel was awake, at least in her head. Why was she like this, imprisoned in her own body? What had she done, what had happened?

And then everything came flooding back like an epiphany. The bad people thinking bad thoughts; her and Nudge and Gazzy unfurling their wings in the middle of the crowd, flying away; the explosion. But they hadn't been fast enough. She'd had to take matters into her own hands, or her own mind, to be exact.

Angel knew that it had been a risky move, to try to move people with her mind. Now she wondered exactly how successful she had been in this telekinetic attempt. She knew Nudge was alive, so now she stretched her mind out to find Gazzy's. Angel was jolted by a sort of soreness that throbbed in the connection, making this simple task more painful than it should have been.

She located Gazzy's mind through the pain. He was scared, sad, and hungry, but he was alive. It seemed like Nudge was talking to him, trying to reassure him.

Max and Fang were together. Fang was worried about Max, and Max was worried about everyone else. Angel wanted to send out a thought to let her know that the three of them had survived, but she was afraid. If it hurt just to sense other people's thoughts, which had always been second nature to Angel, how would it feel to try to send a thought?

She relaxed her mind until the pain subsided and then reached out for Iggy.

There was nothing. Iggy wasn't anywhere.

As grief and shock enveloped her exhausted being, Angel slipped back into darkness.

* * *

"I'm hungry," said Gazzy. 

Nudge was hungry too, and to tell the truth, she didn't really know what to do about it. There weren't many places to find food by the outskirts of a destroyed city. And they couldn't fly away to find food because they couldn't leave Angel, who was still out cold. At least she was still breathing.

But of course Nudge couldn't say all that to Gazzy. "We'll find something," she said. "Don't worry."

"How?" he asked, frustrated. "We're in the middle of a, like, giant blown up place! What are we going to find for food?"

"I don't know!" Nudge shouted back. "I don't know, okay? I'm not Max. I'm not your leader. I didn't sign up to take care of you during… during this! I just wanted to take you and Angel to the freaking zoo, to have fun, and then we'd go back and Max would be in charge and she'd take care of everything and we'd sleep someplace warm and have water and food and be happy! But that's not what happened, and everyone else is missing and maybe even dead and I don't know what you want from me!"

She was crying now, big, ugly, shameful tears. Gazzy turned away, embarrassed and maybe even a bit humbled. Nudge felt completely and utterly hopeless. It had been hours, hours of sitting in the black dust waiting for Angel to wake up. Everything depended on Angel. If- _when_- she woke up, they could find out about everyone else and even if that didn't help they could fly away to somewhere better. That was what Nudge wanted to do- fly away from everything. But she couldn't leave Angel and Gazzy. It was her job to take care of them.

_Max is okay._

"Angel!" Nudge shouted, unable to control herself. She glanced toward the girl's body, but she still appeared to be sleeping. "Angel?" Nudge asked again, more tentatively.

_Fang's with Max,_ Angel spoke again.

"Nudge?" Gazzy asked. "What- what's happening?"

"Angel's awake! But…"

_Only in my mind._

"Only in her mind," Nudge repeated, parrot-like.

"Why isn't she talking to me? Why just you?"

_Head hurts._

"Something's wrong," Nudge said softly. "That's why her body's still asleep."

_Hurts,_ Angel said again.

"Has she talked to the others?" Gazzy said urgently.

_Ig's gone._

Gazzy gasped, and Nudge knew Angel had spoken to him as well. She felt strangely empty. She blinked quickly and opened her mouth, but found she had nothing to say. Everything was just so surreal.

_Max and Fang are okay. They're together. Going to rest before I talk to them._

Max. Nudge latched onto the word. They had to find her. She would make everything alright again. Nudge blocked all other thoughts from her mind. Angel was going to talk to Max and Fang. Even if the flock had been broken beyond repair, it was best that the remaining pieces try to hold together.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well. I'm very sorry. My excuses are pretty much the same as the last time, except with an increase in the amount of homework. I'm going to try to get a couple of chapters ahead during break. Sorry again. I personally am not very fond of this chapter. I thought it was going to be easy, and, surprise! It was hard. That always seems to happen to me. Go figure. 

Thanks to Ozymandyas, RippedIntoPieces, red, up and coming writer, senoritasophia13, therealme1123, and Ride on silver wings for reviewing! I really appreicate your feedback, particularly that of my "constant reviewers:" senoritasophia13, therealme1123, and RippedIntoPieces. Thanks so much! But here's the deal: **I'm not updating again until I get 10 more reviews, amounting to a total of 63.** So if you read this and don't review, you are a very bad person, and you will get leprosy (read The Ten Commandments for Fanfiction Writers if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Also, I would very much appreicate it if you would read and review my oneshot, The Rift. It's good, according to the other people who've reviewed.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!


	9. Connection

**Disclaimer:** Once upon a time there was a person who owned Maximum Ride. That person was not me. The end.

* * *

There was nothing. I waited, inactive, as Fang finished meticulously organizing the contents of his backpack. I felt as though we should have been doing something, but there was nothing to do. We couldn't look for the rest of the flock, since I couldn't fly, and walking just seemed so pointlessly slow. I had screamed to Angel so many times over in my mind that my head was throbbing. I sat on the ground and watched Fang, not registering the purpose of his movements. He wrapped the food in plastic bags to preserve it. Around and around. Again and again.

I noticed that my skin was gray from the black dust in the air. Gray like death. Because that's what the dust was, wasn't it? Death. It was burned bodies and ruined lives and hopeless winged mutants sorting their food in the shadow of a crumbled brick building.

All of my clothes had turned black as well. My jeans had been a crisp new blue. What color had my sweatshirt been? I tried to remember, but my mind wasn't working anymore. My head throbbed on and on like a freight train. Colors flashed in front of my eyes like train cars whipping past me at a crossroad. Dulled yellow. Faded blue. Washed out orange. It didn't matter now. It was black. All black. My vision cleared and I was looking at Fang again. His clothes were black, but they had been black to begin with. For some reason this struck me as funny. I laughed to myself, a jarring sound in the silence.

Fang looked up at me immediately. I swallowed a delirious giggle. "Max?" Fang asked.

"We match," I said, but suddenly it wasn't funny anymore. I shivered.

"Are you okay?" He had that annoying look of concern on his face.

"Fine, I'm fine… Just peachy," I said, remembering the feeling of the rotting fruit in my lap. The juice had flowed freely, sickly sweet as it coated my hands. Like blood, I thought, and a flash of red blinded me momentarily. I covered my eyes, muttering, "Stop it."

Fang looked as though he would have had me committed to a mental institution, had all the mental institutions not been blown up. "Stop what?" he asked.

"Oh, not you," I said, waving my hand dismissively.

"It's okay, Max," he said, scooting closer to me and laying a hand on my arm. "Maybe you should eat something."

"Not hungry." His condescending tone was bothering me. I shook his hand off my arm. He promptly placed it on my shoulder.

"Then get some sleep."

"Not tired. Cold," I said, and I suddenly was cold, again. My teeth chattered audibly, but the abruptly frigid air calmed my mind, and the red tinge in my vision faded.

Fang was clearly shaken by my temporary lapse in sanity. He looked at me intently, as though he couldn't quite figure out if I was the person he knew or not. Maximum Ride wasn't weak. She didn't talk to herself, not since the Voice, but the Voice had died with Jeb, four years ago.

I drew my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them to conserve any heat that might have been in my body. It didn't feel like there was any, but you never know. Fang wrapped his arm across my shoulders and drew me closer to him. I shivered against the sudden heat. His hand felt warm on my forehead.

"No fever," he muttered, and then, "What's wrong with you?" The question was posed gently, but it stung. What _was _wrong with me? I opened my mouth to tell him that I didn't know, but he shushed me.

"Eat something," he ordered, with one hand fumbling in his backpack and the other still holding me against him. Before I could protest he had some sort of protein bar unwrapped and in my hands.

"But-"

"I took the wrapper off. It won't stay good much longer; you have to eat it." I gave him a skeptical look. The cold inside me had started to numb; it wasn't as shocking as it had been.

"Here," said Fang, breaking off half of the bar and taking it for himself. He handed the other piece back to me. "Just eat half," he said. I sighed, but brought the food to my mouth and took a bite. Fang had his devoured before I finished chewing. As I was about to take a second bite, something happened, something so shocking that I dropped the food on the ground, where it was flecked with black dust and made completely inedible.

_Max?_

"Angel?" I said aloud. Fang started and stared at me. I guessed that he wasn't sure if I was hallucinating again.

_It's me. We're alive. Me and Nudge and Gazzy._

My body flooded with warmth and relief. "They're okay," I told Fang, who still looked conflicted. _Where are you?_ I asked Angel.

_Not sure. I think by where the park was. The park just outside the big buildings._

_But how…_ I thought. _That's nowhere near the zoo!_

_I… I moved us. With my mind. Away from the bomb._

I tried to block any thoughts about how incredibly freaky that was. _Um, that's good, sweetie. Can you guys come find us? We're by the edge too, where the oldest building used to be. The brick ones._

_No._

_Are you okay?_ What hadn't she told me that kept them from coming?

_Well, I, um…_

_Tell me, Angel. What happened?_

_I can't really move. _

_What?_ Her words barely registered.

_It's like my body's sleeping is all. I don't hurt, not much._

Oh god. I buried my face in Fang's sweatshirt. He squeezed my arm.

_It's okay, Max._ Oh god. She was trying to make me feel better. I felt like crying again. _I keep waking up more and more. I'll be fine. But you need to come now. Nudge and Gazzy need food and stuff._

Fang was waiting. "Nudge and Gaz are okay," I summarized. "Angel moved them away from the explosion, telekinetically." My tongue felt thick and clumsy against the large words. "She's not doing so well now; she says she can't move."

I looked at Fang's face. It was nearly expressionless, but there was a hint of shock and curiosity.

"It's what she said," I clarified. "Her powers seem to be working alright, though."

He nodded.

"They're where the park used to be. Just outside the city. But…"

"Your wings," he finished. "I'll carry you."

Oh. Great.

_Okay, Angel._ I made my thoughts as reassuring as possible._ We're coming._

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note:  
**I'm very proud of myself. That was a fast update! You can thank Lion8520 for that. 

Actually, I'm okay with how this chapter turned out. I typed it over a three day period, which is a long time for me. Usually I crank them out in about an hour, read them over, and post them. Actually, sometimes I don't even read them over. Sorry.

Once again, please join the blood and gore movement! The brilliant therealme1123 and I made it up.

**If you'd like to join the protest against crappy, sappy romance fics in which little to no attention is paid to grammar/editing/etc., copy this into your profile and add your name to the list: anonymouse13, therealme1123, Wally-West-Go-Zoom, SilverScreech, Ride on silver wings, mergirl007.** **Please PM your username to anonymouse13 or therealme1123 so we can add you to our lists.**

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Thanks to these people for reviewing: therealme1123, vannahQ, senoritasophia13, RippedIntoPieces, kcllxoxo, and Lion8520 (times 8). **I want a total of 75 reviews before I update again**. Thanks for reading!


	10. Waiting

**Disclaimer:** I own the plot and the ruined buildings, but other than that…

* * *

Nudge was waiting. Angel had talked to Max and Max was coming, but it might take a while, she'd warned. So now they were waiting. Gazzy was pacing back and forth, his stomach growling audibly. Angel was lying in the dust, right next to where Nudge was sitting. She was resting again, but earlier she'd been able to open her eyes and move her hands and feet a little bit. 

It had been rather disconcerting for Nudge, to see Angel laying there, her eyes open and full of expression, but her body passive and motionless. It was like she was trapped inside herself. And, strangely, Nudge felt responsible. Maybe it was just because she was in charge, because when she thought about it, it really wasn't Nudge's fault at all. But she did worry that Angel had saved their lives, only to be losing her own.

She thought about Iggy a lot. It seemed surreal, impossible, that he was gone. He had been living and breathing and teasing her less than twenty four hours ago. It just seemed unreal that now he was dead, exploded into millions of tiny pieces, floating around with the black dust that clouded the air. Nudge missed Iggy. He'd been smart and sarcastic and down to earth and realistic and not afraid to say things the way they were. She might even have been in love with him. Or maybe it was just infatuation. She was, after all, only fifteen.

_Nudge?_ Angel was awake. Nudge blushed at the thought of Angel hearing her most recent musings. Angel didn't deny it, assuring Nudge that she had in fact been listening.

_I've been thinking,_ Angel continued,

_What?_

_I, um… Didn't tell Max and Fang. About what you were just thinking about._ Angel's voice sounded guilty.

_You can't tell _anyone_ what I was just thinking about,_ Nudge thought forcefully.

_Not that,_ Angel clarified. _The whole thing._

Nudge didn't know what Angel was talking about. There were too many confusing thought running all around her brain at once, making lots of noise and distracting her. But then it clicked. _You didn't tell them that he… That he…_

_Died._ Nudge flinched at the harshness of Angle's tone. _No, I didn't. Do you think I should have?_

_Yes_, Nudge thought without hesitating. _They would want to know. They deserve to know just as much as we do._

_I thought so too, but then, when I was talking to Max, I couldn't say it. She was just so broken down already; I didn't want her to know anything else so bad._

Broken down? That didn't sound like Max.

_Well, it's not like she told me that. I just felt it. _Angel answered promptly, though Nudge hadn't meant to include that thought in their conversation. That was the trouble with mind readers, the downside to having conversations in your head.

_Sorry._

_Never mind. But, Angel- You need to tell them now. Max doesn't like it if you keep anything from her, much less something… this big._ Nudge swallowed again, but the lump in her throat was restricted her breathing. Angel shut her eyes, presumably to contact Max, and Nudge covered her face with her hands as the confusing thoughts overran her head.

* * *

I hadn't even noticed Fang was descending until we landed, and he set me on the ground. In addition to being humiliating, flying with Fang holding me had just been… weird. The experience of being in the air without being able to fly on my own was new, and, honestly, it really freaked me out. I'd spent the first half hour in the air covering my eyes and trying to control my breathing. 

"Why are we stopping?" I asked, and I was surprised at how weak my voice sounded.

"Taking a break," Fang said. "You're heavier than you look."

"Oh, ha, ha," I said, but I could tell that it was just an excuse. If Fang had wanted a break, for one thing, he wouldn't have stopped here. To get to where the others were as fast as possible, we had to fly over places the explosion had affected more than where we had landed. The smoke was thicker and darker, and carried with it a sick, murky smell that I couldn't place. You could see the fading embers of the still smoldering pieces of wood on the ground, emitting a more traditional gray smoke that blended in with the black. I coughed, trying to get it out of my lungs.

"Come on," said Fang, pulling me up off the ground. His voice was raw from the smoke, which was thickening. "Let's go find someplace we can breathe." I allowed him to drag me off in search of better air.

The brick and concrete structures had held up better than most, not that that was saying much. I knew these had been tall buildings, but all that remained of each was maybe a pair of walls, about twice my height, and a gaping hole that had been the foundation. Fang and I sprinted to the closest opening in the ground; since smoke rises and everything, we'd be safer the lower we could get.

When we reached the basement we jumped. Fang thrust his wings out as he reached for me. We grabbed hands and I spun myself as hard as I could towards him. Just as I felt myself sliding out of his grip, I swung forward enough to grab onto him.

The last of the rocks that had fallen in with us clattered to the ground, and then there was only the sound of our breathing, slowing as the adrenaline faded. I clung to Fang's shoulders as his wings beat in the silence, lowering us away from to smoke. The basement was much deeper than we had anticipated. He swooped recklessly and I squeezed him tighter, making a high-pitched, completely involuntary noise.

"You should be more careful with those," I scolded, tilting my head to indicate his wings. "You only get one pair."

"You would know," he said softly, looking apologetic even as he said it, and I suddenly became aware of the throbbing in my broken wings, lying uselessly against my back. The thrill of the fall was gone, and I felt just as hopeless and useless as ever.

When we landed at the bottom the air was clear, but a rotten smell penetrated the air. I looked around for the source and found it almost immediately: we were standing only a few feet from a body. I looked away, but a sick fascination drew my eyes like a magnet. The thing was mangled and barely human, its limbs twisted as it lay facedown on the floor. It was burned- that was the smell- and was surrounded by a scorched, dark red stain on the concrete. And there was more than one. They were grouped together on one side of the room, as though they had all gathered together in fear. But I knew that was impossible- they wouldn't have had any warning of the incoming threat. It was more likely that they were all working together or something, but the image stayed in my mind nonetheless: a group of people, pathetic in their last moments, cowering in a corner waiting to die.

My morbid thoughts were interrupted by Fang, who dragged me to the opposite corner, which was body-free, without a word. My eyes trailed back to the pile.

"Don't look at them." His voice was as harsh as I'd ever heard it. I forced my gaze back onto his face.

"Why are we here?" I asked, no longer pretending I believed his story about needing a break.

He took a deep breath. "Angel needs to tell us something."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I had a much busier holiday break than I anticipated and didn't get a lot of writing done, sorry about that. Right now school is a little crazy with exams and projects and all that, but I'm doing my absolute best. I might have a chance to write some more on Friday, but I won't be posting anything until you guys meet the review requirement, which is **88 total reviews** for this week. 

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time: therealme1123, lion8520, Meralie, Kristin, shamroxandsweepers, duudezilla, senoritasophia13, not addicted to this author, not tori (ha. ha.), and Sphinxlovers. Sphinxlovers: I might do some flashbacks once everything calms down a bit.

I hope everyone liked this chapter! Sorry about the rather descriptive gore if that sort of stuff bothers you, but I know some of you people like that, so I left it in.


	11. Perspective

**Disclaimer:** Anyone with basic knowledge of the English language can figure this out: I'm writing _fan_fiction. Got it? Good.

* * *

Nudge was the only one still awake when they landed. She was lying on her side next to Angel, but she hadn't been able to sleep for hours. It was dark, not just from the smoke but from the sky too, but Nudge's genetically enhanced sight could still see fairly well through the gloom. Max and Fang descended through the smog a ways away from where the younger children were sleeping, and Nudge immediately saw why. 

There was something wrong with Max. Fang was carrying her as though she was a child, and her wings were tucked into her jacket. She hadn't been flying at all. When Fang set her down, Nudge saw how her legs trembled and nearly gave out. She refused Fang's support and regained her balance; then they began to walk towards Nudge and the other two.

Nudge's instinctual reaction to this scene was guilt. The flock, or the younger members at least, were rarely exposed to any signs of weakness from their leader. The last time they'd really seen her break down had been over four years ago, on a beach. Nudge had tried to block that experience from her memory the best she could. And now, what added to her guilt was the obvious fact that she wasn't _supposed_ to have seen this most recent display. They had landed away from her on purpose, and whether or not they had planned landing at night, it still added to the overall aura of secrecy.

The second thought she had was that of relief. Nudge's stint of leadership was over. From the moment she had no longer found herself strolling innocently through the zoo, the goal of her existence had been to find Max. Once they found Max, everything would be okay again.

Relief was quickly washed away by an overwhelming sense of fear. Max was here now, but as she and Fang slowly grew closer, Nudge could see what Angel had meant by "broken down." Max's darkened silhouette stumbled occasionally, grabbing Fang's arm to keep from falling despite previously rejecting his assistance. And it wasn't just her physical appearance. Max had always projected a kind of strengthening, reassuring atmosphere, even from afar. But now, as Nudge watched her, she was only overcome with a feeling of despair and grief, a raw and aching sense of hopelessness.

Nudge laid her head back on the ground and closed her eyes. It would be easy enough to pretend that she was sleeping, that she had never seen them land, never watched Max stumble and fall across the uneven ground. But as she began to hear their footsteps drawing closer, began to hear their frightened whispers, she realized that while she could pretend, she would never be able to forget. It made her want to curl up and cry, because she had thought that her problems were over, but in reality, they were only just beginning.

* * *

Neither of us would have been able to sleep after Angel's little announcement, so we flew through the night. Actually, make that _Fang_. He flew. I just curled up in his arms and acted in a manner that can only be described as pathetic. I just couldn't understand why Angel had waited so long to tell us about Iggy. Now that I thought about it, there was really no way he could have survived. He'd had no time to get out. We should have stayed together. I should have made us stay together. We shouldn't have been in such a big city; we should have been somewhere less conspicuous, less dangerous. 

You can't change the past, Max, I thought to myself. In the voice's absence, I had to argue with just myself. Rational Max versus Emotional Max. Rational Max usually won, these days. That's why I hadn't even cried over poor Ig. Emotional Max felt awful about that, but she didn't really have a say.

God, maybe I was going crazy.

I started to get cold again, up in the air with the wind whipping against my body. I didn't say anything to Fang because I didn't want him to worry about me. He was probably having the same sort of internal struggle as I was over how to react, although I doubt he had named the facets of his personality. I concentrated on keeping myself from shaking, but that was only to distract me from my real problems. I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt at self-control.

Images swam before my eyes. Angel screaming as an eraser dragged her out of my sight. Ari snarling as he hit Fang's head against a rock, over and over again. Nudge's face as I stumbled over an explanation for almost bleeding out on a beach. Any time I'd ever let my flock down, it was there, played out before me as though on a movie scream. And then I saw Iggy's face with his blank, clouded eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, then there was a flash of light and a loud noise, and the scene had turned into the pile of bodies from the concrete basement. I knelt down next to one of the victims. He was almost unrecognizable except for his singed, strawberry blond hair…

"Max," said Fang.

My eyes opened abruptly. I felt shaken and sick.

"You okay?" he asked.

"What…? Where are we?" How much time had passed? Had I been asleep?

"We're almost there. I can see where the building used to be. You've been sleeping for maybe two hours now," he answered, addressing my unspoken questions as well as the ones I'd said aloud. "You're shivering," he said, concerned. "Maybe we should land."

"No, I'm fine-" But he we were already nearing the ground. I could see three small bodies next to a crumbling wall, a few hundred feet away from where we had landed. A pang of nausea shot through me as I remembered the bodies in my dream. They're sleeping, Max. Sleeping.

My legs nearly buckled beneath me when Fang set me down, but I recovered in time. I still felt shaky, but the cold was receding now. Either that or I was just going numb.

"You okay?" Fang asked again, holding my arm as I steadied myself.

"I'm fine," I said, pushing his arm away. He looked doubtful. "Really," I told him. "Just… Bad dreams." It was completely inadequate to describe what was wrong, but he accepted it.

"Do you want to walk over from here?" Fang asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. Thanks." So that Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel wouldn't see him carrying me. Wouldn't see that I was weak.

The ground was slightly hard for me to navigate. My mind kept wandering back to my dream and I still felt kind of dizzy, even though I wasn't cold anymore. Fang was watching me out of the corner of his eye, which annoyed and reassured me at the same time. I looked back at him, meeting his gaze, and promptly stumbled over a rock. He caught me before my knees could scrape the ground. I blushed, biting my lip and feeling pathetic again.

"It's okay," Fang whispered, pulling me back to a standing position. He wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me upright. We kept walking, my face still red and ashamed. I was going to have to hold it together in front of the kids. They needed me to help them, to get them out of this mess.

"I don't know what to do," I confided.

"We'll leave," Fang said, his voice quiet and calm. "Start over somewhere else. It's the only thing we can do."

"There's complications." Such as, you know, my flying (or lack thereof), Angel's little movement issue, and all that stuff. But I didn't want to say it out loud. Fang knew what I was thinking, anyway.

"We'll deal."

I nodded. "We always do."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So I finally went back and fixed the little grammatical mistake that everyone was so kind to point out in the last chapter. (If that sounded sarcastic... Good, because you're being realistic. But please, if I do make mistakes, tell me.) Anyway, I decided that I wasn't going to get anymore reviews if I didn't update, so I think I'm going to give up on that little review requirement thing (again). 

I struggled a lot with what order to put the two sections of this chapter in, but I finally put them in like this because that's the order I wrote them in. Most of you probably don't care, but I felt like saying that anyway. The rest of the chapter was actually pretty easy for me, which is usually a bad sign as to quality, but I'm fairly happy with it, so whatever.

Thanks to the following people for their thoughtful reviews: yami1234, therealme1123, senoritasophia13, lion8520, and FangsBestFriend. I didn't get as many reviews as I would have liked, but I'll get over.

**I'm not going to set a requirement, but_ please_, if you read this, let me know what you thought! Feedback really means a lot to me**.


	12. Reunion

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Maximum Ride. And if I did, I'd trade her in for Fang.

* * *

When I saw the three of them sleeping there, I was so happy I felt like crying. Only I didn't, of course. I don't cry anymore. But I did tear up a bit and I had to swallow a couple of times to gain control of myself. The sight of them just made me overwhelmingly relieved. I hadn't failed them, not yet.

Nudge's eyes opened almost immediately. "Max?' she said. "Fang?"

I smiled brokenly and hugged her. I don't know how I could already sense it, but Nudge seemed a bit broken herself. The boundless, carefree energy that she had retained throughout all of our hardships was gone, and I knew why. She'd never truly been in charge before, although I had trusted her on occasion to take the younger kids somewhere. This was a real hardship, and I knew better than anyone how she felt.

"Thank you for taking care of them," I whispered in her ear. "You did a good job."

She nodded, biting her lip, and I let her go. She stumbled into Fang's arms and then Gazzy was awake. I hugged him tightly but he obliged for only a second before pushing me away, his eyes wide and hungry.

"Do you have food?" He looked almost desperate.

Fang pried Nudge off of him and wordlessly tossed me his backpack, which was alarmingly light. I handed it to Gazzy, who practically ripped the bag open to get inside.

And then there was Angel. The lump in my throat swelled again to look at her. She was lying on her back in the dust, looking very pale. I knelt shakily beside her fragile form.

"She's been a lot better," said Nudge, her voice strained. "She opens her eyes a lot and she can move her arms and legs and sit up if she really thinks about it. But she has to rest a lot."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I tucked Angel's hand into my own. It was white and cold, and the skin somehow felt both dry and clammy at the same time. Her eyes flitted open and her cracked lips formed a slight smile when she saw me.

_Max_, she said in my head. I bit my lip and squeezed her hand.

_Max_, she said again. _Are you okay?_

_I'm fine, sweetie. Don't worry about me. Everything's going to be okay._

_You don't really think that_, she said, her blue eyes wide and expressive.

_But…_ I stopped. I didn't really have an answer to that. It wasn't like I could deny it.

_It's okay,_ said Angel. _Everything will be okay. You have to believe it too, or else it won't happen._

_I'll try,_ I said. _We can get out of this._

Her lips turned up at the corners and she nodded, her eyes crinkling at the effort. I wiped my eyes and looked back at the rest of the flock. Well, the rest of the flock minus one. But I couldn't think about that. I had to take care of the ones that were still here.

"That's enough, Gaz," I said, gently prying Fang's bag out of his hands. "There's got to be something left for the rest of us too." He nodded in agreement, but watched the bag hungrily as I took out a bruised apple and handed it to Nudge.

_Angel_, I thought. Her eyes opened again and she looked at me questioningly. _Can you eat?_ I asked. She nodded.

"Give her something really compact," said Fang, who seemed to have picked up on our unspoken discussion. "Like, a lot of calories in something that's pretty small."

"We don't have much to choose from," I responded. Our lack of supplies was starting to scare me. We'd have to find more food and water soon.

Fang reached into the bag and pulled out a protein bar, similar to the one he'd tried to get me to eat earlier. I regretted dropping it now. He knelt next to Angel, pulled off a small piece of the food, and placed it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, with a look of concentration on her face. I could tell that she really had to focus on what she was doing, but I was relieved that she could eat at all.

"You should have something too," said Fang, looking up at me from his seat next to Angel.

I shook my head. "Save it for them," I said, gesturing toward the younger kids. "We'll have to find a way to get more soon anyway."

He nodded. "We have to get out of here," he said, and I knew it was true. "Find… civilization."

"Yeah," I said weakly, contemplating the difficulties that lay in our path. "Tomorrow. It's the middle of the night, and you've been flying all day."

Gazzy was asleep as soon as he'd eaten almost half our food and chugged an entire bottle of water. He'd hardly said anything to us. I knew he had a big appetite, but lack of food seemed to have reduced him to a primitive mindset. It wasn't his fault. I was surprised that we weren't all a little more messed up, considering the traumatic childhood factor and all.

"I'll keep watch," Nudge offered, but I could see from the circles under her eyes that she needed sleep.

"It's all right, Nudge, I've got it," I told her. "You get some rest." She curled up next to Angel and closed her eyes. I watched her fall asleep, her breathing becoming slow and deep. I noticed that my own heart rate was a bit faster than normal. I still felt awful and my entire back ached, but I automatically hid the feelings now that I was with the younger kids again. I thought of weak and pathetic I'd acted when it was just Fang and me. Had it just been a release, after all these years of holding everything in? Or was there really something wrong with me? I hugged my knees to my chest and laid my head back against the rough brick wall.

I heard someone get up and come sit next to me. I didn't have to look to know it was Fang.

"Go to sleep," I said, without looking at him.

"Max-"

"No. Don't be stupid. You flew all day and you're going to have to do it again tomorrow. I don't have to do anything, just hang there and hope you don't drop me. That shouldn't be too tiring."

"I wouldn't drop you," he said, sounding the slightest bit hurt.

I sighed and turned my head to look at him. "I know you wouldn't drop me, okay? I didn't mean that. But you've taken care of me enough. I'm sorry I fell apart and acted insane and everything. But I'm fine now. So stop worrying about me and take care of yourself. You've only got a few more hours to rest, and then we're leaving."

His face was completely impassive, and he made no sign that he had even heard me. He walked almost silently back to his spot across from me and laid down. I was sorry that I'd taken my frustration out on him like that, but I hadn't been too harsh. He might retreat inside himself for a while, but he'd be there when we needed him. When I needed him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So… That's that. I'm still figuring out the smaller details as to the nest of the plot, but I've got the big picture all figured out. There's a bit of a turning point coming up, when they reunite with civilization and all that fun stuff. Depending on how in-depth I get with the rest of the plot, we're either about a half or a third of the way done.

Thanks to these wonderful people for reviewing: senoritasophia13, evilcarrotofdoom, Jayde3, therealme1123, RippedIntoPieces, Aqua279, praypray, FangsBestFriend, and Kristin. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!


	13. Colors

**Disclaimer: **James Patterson would never write something like this.

* * *

Fang awoke suddenly, as he always did. The sun was starting to shine through the gloom of the black dust that still swirled in the air around them. It was just starting to settle, and he could see the lightening blue of the sky if he looked up. Max was where he had left her last night, but now she had her chin rested on one knee, and the other leg stretched out in front of her. Her eyes were so tired they looked almost sunken in, their lids drooping slightly, but she was awake.

He stood up slowly, ignoring the dull pains that shot through his body. Max's tired eyes lifted to look at him, suddenly alert, but she looked away quickly. Neither of them said anything, but this was less because of anger and more because there was nothing to say. Max rose as cautiously as Fang had, registering her own injuries. Fang could see the pain in the small nuances of her face: the way her lips tightened and twitched, the calculated stiffness of her movements, the shielding emptiness in her eyes.

Fang didn't comment on her appearance. Still silent, he knelt beside Nudge and shook her shoulders. She woke up confused; that was one thing about her that hadn't changed.

"What?" Nudge asked blearily. "Where…? Oh."

"We're leaving in a few minutes. Get something to eat. Do you think you can carry Angel?"

"Yeah," said Nudge, her eyes clearing as comprehension dawned. "Yeah, I can do that."

Max woke Gazzy, and none of them were quite sure how to wake Angel. Fang handed out rations of their remaining food and water. Max declined again, which worried him. She may have lectured him on taking care of himself, but she needed to learn the same lesson. But Fang didn't bring up the issue; he knew how to pick his battles. Right now the priority was to get the flock out of here. He could talk to Max while they were flying, since he was once again going to be placed in the awkward situation of carrying her.

Fang positioned Angel's body in Nudge's arms before the rest of them took off. Angel was either still asleep or pretending to be. Fang didn't doubt that she was as embarrassed at her weakness as Max was of her own.

"Think you can hold her?" Fang asked.

Nudge nodded, a determined look crossing her face. "I can do whatever you need me to," she said.

Fang nodded, not knowing what to say in response to such a statement. Nudge took off and she and Gazzy hovered in the air, their wings beating strong, steady strokes.

Fang looked at Max. She still hadn't spoken to him; in fact, she hadn't said much of anything to anyone. She had her arms folded tightly across her chest and her back was hunched slightly. He walked over and she turned to face him. She put her arms around his neck so that he could pick her up, but she still wasn't looking at him. Her hands were cold against his skin, and as he lifted her off the ground, he could feel her whole body shaking.

Fang didn't acknowledge it; he knew she would prefer it that way. She didn't want pity, she had made that clear last night. So he ignored his need to comfort her and unfurled his black wings, throwing himself to the mercy of the sky.

* * *

They flew over nothing but ruins for a long time. Just as Fang was beginning to give in to the irrational thought that maybe there wasn't anything left, the terrain became less destroyed. The bigger towns that surrounded the city were intact but evacuated. There would be people in the smaller towns.

"Maybe we should stay here," suggested Nudge, who was still going strong, even with Angel's added weight.

"No," said Fang. "We're looking for somewhere more on the edge of an inhabited town."

Nudge nodded, was silent for a moment, and then said, "Why?"

"Because that bomb wasn't aimed at us. Whatever's going on now is about the whole world, and we need to know what's happening."

Nudge nodded again. Normally she would have had her own thoughts to express, but now she accepted it without question.

Max was sleeping, her head resting on Fang's chest. Her body was still cold but she had stopped shaking and was now muttering occasionally as she slept. Every now and then her body would jerk unexpectedly, making it unnerving for Fang to carry her. He remembered promising that he wouldn't drop her.

After maybe another hour, they began to see signs of civilization. The first clues were cars, inching across the tiny roads far below.

"We're landing," he told Nudge and Gazzy. "Over there." He tilted his head to indicate a small patch of forest at the edge of the town.

* * *

I was cold. Frigid. Freezing. Icy. Blue. Jarring, cool colors swarmed in front of my eyes. _No_, I thought. _No no no. Stop it. Go away. You can't be here now._ The colors seemed to laugh at me, brushing against my skin tauntingly. Wherever they touched, my skin was covered in goose bumps. I started to shake and they laughed harder, forming pictures in front of my eyes with the different shades of blue.

At first, I couldn't see the scene they were making; my eyes were too unfocused and panicked. Then the blues started to darken and warp into different hues: reds and browns and greens and yellows and blacks. And then the colors shrunks and moved and multiplied and then the picture was Iggy, standing in front of an oven. Doing what he did everyday so that the flock could eat. Doing what I had asked him to. _No_, I begged. _Please, I don't want to see. Please don't make me._ I tried to close my eyes, but realized they were already closed. I tried to open them, but it was like they were sewn shut.

The alien laughter faded and then all I could hear was the sizzling sound of something baking and the hushed chatter of the store. I could even hear the distinct tones of Iggy's voice. _No_, I thought, over and over again. _No no no stop it no no stop no. _I couldn't run away; my feet were glued to the floor, my body paralyzed. Even as I struggled to tear myself away, I watched with a sick fascination as Iggy stopped suddenly and stood still, listening.

I stopped my futile internal chanting and listened. I could hear it too: people were screaming.

Less than a second later the entire world turned red and orange. The colors danced mockingly and laughed at me. Their taunting echoed in my ears until it was just a constant wave of noise, an overwhelming buzzing sound. I wanted to scream, to sob, to curl up into a ball and die, but I couldn't do anything.

The colors parted and I was standing in the ruined basement, kneeling by the pile of bodies. This one was burnt and smoking, his hair singed. _No no no I know who this you don't have to show me no no no please stop no anything I'll do anything stop stop stop._

But my arms acted of their own accord and turned the body over slowly so that I could see his face. His strawberry blond hair was black from the explosion, and his features were blurred and burned. His mouth was open, but part of his lips had melted into thin, sagging flesh. The rest of his body was blackened and twisted beyond recognition.

_Why? _I thought, as the colors cackled from the edges of my vision.

"Max," they said. "Max."

_No go away no no no._

"Max," Fang said again. I could feel the rough ground beneath my body, and a warm hand on my shoulder. Iggy's remains faded from my eyes and when I tried to open them, I found that I could.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This was a rather fast update, wasn't it? Well, I got home from school early today (Yay for snow!) and since we're at 100 reviews, I decided to write something. And it just kind of worked out. This was one of those chapters that just comes to you. I hope it turned out okay. I had fun writing the demented bit at the end. I hope it was gore-filled enough for all you psychopaths.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: therealme1123, Kristin, RippedIntoPieces, FangsBestFriend, anonoymus, senoritasophia13, and Jayde3. I love feedback. So… Pretty pretty please review, and thanks for reading!


	14. Complications

**Disclaimer: **May cause severe allergic reaction in nasty lawyers who want to sue me. Please don't.

* * *

Nudge watched Max's eyes pop open with a familiar sense of discomfort, a sense that this was something she wasn't supposed to see. It was weakness again. Max wasn't invincible, she was panicking in her sleep, thrashing and muttering under her breath.

"What?" Max said, her wide eyes darting frantically, absorbing their surroundings. Her face was pale and clammy and her breaths came in short, uneven gasps. No one said anything; they just stared at her. A sick feeling of dread crept into Nudge's stomach. They _needed _Max. She was the only person who could hold them all together. Fang had tried to be a leader once, four years ago, but they never spoke of it and Nudge knew it hadn't gone well. And Nudge couldn't handle the pressure, as she'd so recently experienced. Maybe Max couldn't take it either; maybe this was the breaking point.

But then Max took a deep breath and wiped her forehead. "Sorry, guys," she said, freeing herself from Fang's grasp and standing up on her own, albeit rather shakily. "I was just…" Nudge could practically see her mind straining as she searched for an acceptable excuse. "I was tired, you know."

Nudge looked around at the other members of the flock. Gazzy looked a bit skeptical, but Nudge knew that he wanted to believe it, so he would. The younger kids always heard what they needed to hear. Nudge saw that now that she was no longer a part of that group. Angel was sitting up in the same spot where Nudge had set her down when they landed. Her eyes were open and her face had molded into a worried yet concentrated expression, so Nudge knew she was reading someone's mind. Maybe Max's.

Fang, who was obviously not convinced, pulled Max away from the group and whispered to her under the shade of one of the larger trees. Nudge wasn't very good at reading his emotions, but his face looked angry, almost scared. Now Max was saying something back, and it wasn't hard to see the fury in her face. Or was it panic? Nudge sighed and sat down next to Angel, dropping her face into her hands.

If Max was falling apart, the flock was falling apart. It was that simple.

* * *

I was still shaking when Fang pulled me away from the younger kids. I felt kind of dizzy and I kept seeing moving shades of color out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned to look the scenery was stationary. Fang had a tight grip on my arm and I couldn't summon the strength to pull away. We stopped a good distance away from the flock, where they wouldn't be able to hear us.

"Max…" Fang said softly, laying his hand on my shoulder. I brushed it off and glared at him.

"I'm fine," I spat, taking deep breaths as the world spun in front of my eyes. I could see shades of green glittering, almost teasing me.

"You're obviously not. And denial isn't going to get you anywhere." His voice was harsher than before. I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing.

"No, Fang," I gasped. "I don't want-"

"What _do_ you want?" he said quietly.

"I…" I wanted these freaking colors to go away. They weren't even real, I knew that. But I was seeing them anyway. And the dreams… I wanted those to go away too. I didn't need to relive the cause of my guilt every time I closed my eyes.

"Look, it's not like I don't know where you're coming from," said Fang. "I'm the one who neglected the mention my shredded ribs that one time, remember?"

"I try not to. And this is different." I struggled to hold myself together. The flock was watching. Breathe.

" It's close enough."

I looked down, leaning against the tree in an attempt to combat my dizziness. My shoes and the edges of my jeans were still coated with black dust. "I really think," I said slowly, "that it's just from stress. At least the dreams are."

I could hear the frown in Fang's voice when he spoke. "Okay. But we're going to deal with this later. And you're going to tell me if it gets worse."

I nodded, still looking at the ground. Everything here was green and brown, lightening as the sun rose, but I was still the color of death. I wondered if there was even a point in running away from it, or trying to wash it off. Maybe it was like a plague, and the people in whatever town we stayed in would catch it from us, the black dust creeping up their bodies until it smothered them.

Fang was watching me. I hated this. I hated being vulnerable and needing help and leaning against a tree because I was too dizzy to stand. I sank down into a sitting position and laid my head on my knees, closing my eyes.

"Stress, huh?" Fang said sarcastically.

"Shut up." I mumbled, but the dizziness was going away now, and I lifted my head cautiously. "I assume we're close to some sort of town."

He nodded. "The ones closer to the city were evacuated, I think."

"Let's just… Wait a while."

We didn't say anything after that; I don't know exactly how long the silence lasted. I put my head back down to recover further, and I could hear Nudge and Gazzy walking over. They must have carried Angel, because I heard them putting her down next to me. The air was tense, and I knew I was worrying them by acting like this. But then again, it would probably worry them more if I collapsed walking into town. I only needed a few more minutes to clear my head, and then we could go.

* * *

In the town, a man was laying in a dark alley, looking up at the sky. He'd been up all night, receiving shipments from the nearby deserted towns, but it was still hard for him to fall asleep. There was always a nagging paranoia in the back of his mind. Despite the protection the group had offered him, there was always the possibility of an attack. Violence was prominent in times like these, especially in these lower parts of town. There was always the chance that he wasn't earning enough profit to please the people in charge, and that would be enough for them to turn on him.

After the bomb, there'd been another one, far away, and then another, and then another. The man wasn't sure if the whole world had fallen into a panic, but this area certainly had. The big cities had all been emptied, as had the smaller towns surrounding them. The people had been terrified and left immediately, bringing with them only what they could hold.

In the aftermath of a tragedy, there were always the people who used the outcome to their advantage. These were the people the man worked for. They employed those who had lost everything, sending them into the empty towns and cities to take whatever resources were left and paying them for their findings. They paid next to nothing, hoarding the profit for themselves when they marketed the items to general public, but the salary was better than nothing at all. And there was the promise of protection- not that it was always kept.

So the man just stared at the sky waiting for the sun to come up, waiting for sleep to take him. He had to rest sometimes, no matter the risk. He was just starting to feel himself drift off when something streaked across the sky. He was sitting upright in a second; he needed fast reflexes to survive on the streets.

He could actually see several figures against the backdrop of the sun rising. He counted three. They were too large to be birds, but he could clearly decipher that each of the creatures had wings: powerful, sweeping wings that propelled them effortlessly across the sky.

Aside from the wings, of course, he thought they had a distinctly human shape.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So here's the deal. This is important. **I need characters.** Now that the flock is quickly approaching civilization, there is a need for minor characters to interact with them. I mostly need names, but if you want to give me a description too, that's also helpful. You can make up a character or describe yourself, but please keep in mind that I might twist their personalities a bit so they can fulfill the role I need. So don't be insulted if you describe yourself to me and I make you evil. Well, maybe not evil, but not a very nice person. Another thing: I need an equal distribution of girls and guys. And seeing as 90 of FF members are female… Some of you are going to have to make up guys. Sorry.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time: Me, disneydork, Someone aka Me, FindTheStrengthWithinYourself, senoritasophia13, fangsangel, therealme1123, Kyo-Fang (x2), 14rosestar15, FangsBestFriend, Jayde3, RippedIntoPieces, and FallingisFun (x13). This was a good week in terms of reviews, so please keep it up, and thanks so much for reading!

Oh yes- one more thing. (This is getting rather long.) If you know me in real life, and you are reading this and not reviewing, then please review anonymously. Please? Telling me in person that you liked it doesn't count…


	15. Vacancy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the flock. I do, however, own the bitchy OC. Unfortunately.

* * *

Cat threw open the door of her house, slammed it shut, and leaned against the cracked gray paint that coated the cheap plastic siding. Her house just felt so suffocating and full these days. Granted, her tenants stayed in their rooms during the day, but she could hear their breathing and sometimes their muted muttering, calling to dead family members in their sleep. And then there were those that didn't sleep at all, pacing back and forth. Their tortured steps sent chills down her spine, and sometimes she just had to get away. So she slid down to clutch her knees against her chest on the porch, which was no more than a raised slab of concrete fenced in with a twisted iron railing.

When the survivors and evacuees started pouring into town, they'd needed someplace to stay. Following a trend set by her older, wiser neighbors, Cat had stuck a sign reading "Vacancy" into the frozen ground of her front lawn, and that was all it took. It wasn't really generosity; Cat had never been the most giving of people. But she knew an opportunity when she saw it, and nothing could stop her from taking it. She had lugged her few possessions into her bedroom and rented out the resulting extra rooms, using the kitchen as a common area.

She charged whatever she wanted by the week. The tenants didn't have much choice but to pay her; it was either here or the streets. Granted, a few did choose the streets over her high-priced hospitality, but Cat still made a decent enough living. If you could call this a life.

* * *

I managed to make it into town without passing out, throwing up, or being attacked by nonexistent colors, which was a pretty impressive feat, for me. Gazzy seemed to have either forgotten or blocked out my display of weakness, but Nudge was walking next to me, matching my slower pace and looking up at me every few minutes.

"I'm okay, Nudge," I reassured her as we neared the squat, dingy buildings. I squeezed her hand for good measure, and she smiled at me, but still looked worried. Fang, who had Angel slung carefully across his shoulder, kept shooting me concerned glances as well. I mean, I understood their need to keep an eye on me, but it didn't make their anxiety any more tolerable.

The town wasn't pretty, to say the least. It looked as though it hadn't been the most prosperous of places to begin with, but it had declined even further in the aftermath of the bomb. The streets were coated with a fine black dust, similar to the dust that coated our clothing. I imagined the dust as death and stifled a shiver of pain that ran from the tips of my wings down my spine. I couldn't escape it. It was always here to remind me.

There were people sleeping in the streets, leaning against the sides of buildings with their heads nodding. They looked almost a filthy as we did. I wondered if there was anyplace for them to go, or if there was anyplace for us to go. It didn't look good.

There were signs in front of the more well off houses we passed. Most said "No Vacancy." I looked at Fang. He shifted Angel against his shoulder.

"We'll see if there's anyplace with room for us. We have money," he reassured us.

"For the moment," I muttered. Nudge looked at me and I immediately regretted my words. I needed to stay in charge. And even if I couldn't pull that off, Fang could cover for me. I needed to stay… positive. Yes, that was it. Stay positive, Max.

One of the smaller houses up ahead had an opening. A girl was sitting on the porch, looking utterly miserable. She stood up quickly when she saw us coming and brushed the dust off of her clothing. She walked up next to the vacancy sign and waited, surveying us with a calculating glare.

"You're new," she said bluntly, when we were close enough to hear.

"Yes," I said, forcing my voice to stay strong.

"I've got the only space in town right now. You're not going to find a room anywhere else."

I looked at Fang for confirmation. He nodded.

"Okay," I said, lifting my chin. "Let's see it, then."

She smirked, but led us inside. One of the hinges was broken on the front door, and it hung there, slightly crooked. We walked in cautiously, slowly. Gazzy held my hand, looking overwhelmed and frightened. The single hinge squeaked as the girl shut the door behind us. She walked to the front of the group and down the narrow hallway.

"I have three people staying with me right now. There's only one more room left, and I doubt you'll fit comfortably, but it's really the only choice you've got at the moment." She looked over her shoulder and met my eyes with a confident look. Her eyes were a cruel, empty dark brown behind her ragged black hair. I didn't know what it was, but there was definitely something about this girl that I didn't trust.

She tapped the first three doors we passed lightly with her fist, saying a name each time. "Mark… Cassy… Rob…" We followed tentatively. Even after four years of relative safety, the flock still retained a sense of claustrophobia, and this hallway was about as closed in as it can get. Even Fang looked jumpy.

The girl stopped at the last door, paused, and turned the handle. "Go on in," she said, gesturing with her hand. "I'd come too, but something tells me I might not fit."

Fang went first, carrying Angel, then Nudge, then Gazzy and me, him still holding onto my hand like it was his only lifeline. I glared at the girl as we passed. She didn't seem the least bit intimidated. I decided that I _really_ didn't like her.

She had, however, been right about one thing: the room was freaking small. The yellowing white paint was cracked and the hardwood floor was uneven. If I had laid down, I would probably have reached from wall to wall. The room was also completely bare, as in no bed, no couch, no chair, and no other type of furniture. I looked around at my flock, who were all looking at me. I met Fang's eyes. He gave me a look that clearly said, _Well, if it's all we're going to get…_

I turned back to the girl, who was leaning against the doorframe with her hair hanging over her face, covering one eye. "Well?" she said.

"Where do we sleep?" asked Nudge, ever the inquisitive one.

The girl shrugged. "On the floor," she said. "I can give you some blankets if you pay extra."

"And how much do you want?" Fang asked.

Her smile twisted up at one corner. "How much you got?"

I slid over to Fang and gave him a questioning look. "How much _do_ we have?"

He bent his head down to whisper in my ear. "About seven hundred bucks, from the old bank account and the paychecks."

"We'll give you two hundred up front," I told the girl, who looked at me with indifference.

"Kay," she accepted. "After that it's fifty per week."

I turned back to Fang. "We don't know how long we're going to be here," he said quietly.

I walked up to the girl. She lifted her head from the doorframe to look at me straight on. "You're sure this is all there is?" I growled.

"Yep," she said, almost lazily. "Here, Mark'll tell you. She walked back to the first door and gave a sharp knock. "Mark!" she said harshly. "I know you're not asleep, I can hear you pacing in there all day!"

There was a sigh and the door opened. Mark had light brown hair that looked as though it hadn't been washed in weeks. The circles under his eyes were almost black from exhaustion. His voice was as monotonous as his appearance. "Whole town's full to the brim," he slurred. "She's a bitch," he continued, pointing at the girl, "but it's her or the streets." He proceeded to slam the door and I could hear his footsteps resume pacing.

"He's got that right," she said, walking back to the doorframe. " Me or the streets. What's your choice?"

I looked at Fang. He nodded. I squeezed Gazzy's hand.

"Okay," I sighed, as Fang dug in his pocket for the money. She reached forward with her hand outstretched, waiting. He handed her the bills and she counted them carefully, then smiled with the first real emotion I'd seen in her.

"Thanks," she said, seemingly slightly less cold. "I'm Catrien. Or Cat." And she slammed the door, alleviating the need for us to introduce ourselves.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Okay, allow me to just say this: OCs are really hard to write. If anyone has any suggestions for her character, _please_ let me know. Or any other characters, for that matter. Thanks for all the ideas, everyone, but I _really_ need guy names. Names for large, hairy, mean men, aka _not_ names like "Melvin" (But thanks for the effort, FallingisFun). I'm going to try to use as many names as possible, but I might not get to some.

You may have noticed that I have a new story up, called Betrayal. I was trying to get over my writer's block for this story, so I started writing something else to try to get the juices flowing, and I came up with an entirely different story. So I'd be eternally grateful if you could read and review it. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Someone aka Me, senoritasophia13, 5253racer, bbaluber3, FangsBestFriend, Kyo-Fang, FallingisFun, Jayde3, RippedIntoPieces, aradiea, disneydork, Lion8520 (x4), 14rosestar15, and Kristin. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!


	16. Scavengers

**Disclaimer: **I do own _everything_ except for Max and Fang. Oh, and I don't own the OCs names, because I'm not creative enough to come up with them on my own.

* * *

Jasper parked his truck parallel to the building and checked the gas gauge before turning it off. He swore. It was hovering just above empty, and when it did run out, there wasn't going to be a way to fill it up again. He twisted the key hastily into the off position and pushed open the door, stepping out into the early morning air. It was easier to bring goods in when no customers were around, so they didn't realize how much they were getting ripped off. 

He tugged the plastic tarp off of the back of the truck, revealing a diverse selection of appropriated items. He grabbed the guns first; it wouldn't be wise to leave those outside unsupervised. Jasper covered the objects again and hurried inside, eager to escape the numbing chill in the air.

The warehouse was only slightly warmer than it had been outside, and just as dark. Jasper jogged to the office at the far corner, where a single light gave off a dim glow. The weapons were cradled carefully in his arms. His echoing footsteps slowed to a stop as he reached the door. The light flickered as he shuffled the guns under one arm, reaching up the other to knock.

The light went out for almost a second and then came back to life, the intensity even lesser than it had been before. The door cracked open, and Jasper could barely make out the face of Mel, one of the guards.

"Oh," grunted Mel, pushing the door open further and giving a sigh of relief. "It's you."

"It's me," Jasper repeated, smirking slightly. Mel was the only guard who seemed to be afraid of the dark.

"I guess you need me to open the garage, bring your truck in. How much fuel you got left?"

"I think enough for maybe one more run," Jasper lied. "And actually, could we put these away first?" He bounced the guns in his arms.

"Oh. Yeah." Mel abandoned his post by the office and led the way to the firearms section, brandishing the dying flashlight out in front of them. Jasper knelt down and laid the weapons on the concrete floor.

"Don't know why you keep bringing guns," Mel complained. "There's enough tension in this town without them."

"If it makes you feel any better," said Jasper, rising to his feet, "I didn't find as many bullets this time."

Mel grunted his disapproval as they made their way to the garage door. "Did you at least get some batteries? Double A's? Because this thing's about to die on me." He tossed the flashlight precariously and caught it in his beefy hands.

"All types of batteries," Jasper assured him as they reached the door. Mel bent down, grumbling, to grab the handle. He hoisted it up and the garage door rose, the hinges squeaking. Jasper ran back to his truck and pulled the keys out of his pocket.

"Please turn on," he begged the vehicle, patting the dashboard as he turned the keys. The engine sputtered and then roared to life. The gas gauge dropped a fraction lower. The truck surged forward and into the warehouse. Jasper turned it off as quickly as he could. With luck, maybe there'd be enough gas left to drive back out.

Mel strolled over and watched as Jasper opened the truck door, jumped out, and tore off the tarp. He shone the flashlight over the back to view the items.

"Pretty good haul," Mel said appreciatively, pulling out a clipboard and pen. "The boss'll be happy."

It took over an hour to log and sort each item. There were practical items: blankets, canned food, candles, matches, first aid supplies, clothing, but there were also the more extravagant products: books, games, a large selection of alcohol, and several different types of battery-powered electronics.

"Well," said Mel, "Guess that's it." He switched off his flashlight; the sun was coming up and there was no longer a need for it.

"Tell the boss I'll be over later today," Jasper told Mel, who nodded. Jasper backed his truck out of the building and down the street a ways before pulling over to the side of the road and turning it off. Mel tugged on the garage door handle, and it rolled back down.

* * *

Max twitched in her sleep, rolled over to face the wall, and started muttering to herself. She'd been doing this on and off for about half an hour, and Fang was contemplating waking her up. It had taken a lot of convincing to get her to fall asleep in the first place, and he didn't want to have to do that all over again. And she needed sleep. 

She rolled over again and clearly said the word "No." Fang sighed and stood up. It only took about two steps to walk across the room to her sleeping form. He knelt down and gently shook her shoulders.

"Max," he whispered. At the sound of her name, she jerked awake, sitting up with wide eyes. She looked at Fang and then around at the sleeping flock members, her eyes lingering on Angel. "You okay?" Fang asked. Max nodded, keeping her mouth shut. She was pale and trembling slightly. Fang sat down next to her and put his hand on her arm.

After a while, the shaking stopped and some color returned to her face. "Better?" Fang asked.

"Yeah," she rasped, opening her mouth for the first time since she'd awoken.

"Go back to sleep," Fang ordered, getting up so that she could lie down again.

"No, don't-" Fang turned back to look at her. She hesitated, then said, "I see us dead."

"What?"

"In my dreams, I think it's us, I-" She stopped, breathing so fast she was almost panting. Fang sat down next to her again. Her hand slipped into his; it was cold and starting to quiver again. He waited for her breathing to slow, and she continued.

"I always see the bodies. From… when we were flying to, to get to the flock, and, the basement." Fang nodded, remembering how she had seemed fascinated by them.

"Yeah, and I think-" She paused and swallowed. Her hand was shaking more now. "I think they're us, Fang."

He didn't really know what to say, but she was looking at him, expecting him to tell her _something_, to try to make it all okay. "Everyone's fine," he said, knowing that it was the wrong thing, because one of them hadn't made it out.

"Iggy," she whispered, her voice almost inaudible. "I see him die. That's how it starts."

"We're not going to die." Fang wasn't sure how to address the subject of Iggy.

"Everyone dies, eventually."

"Don't think like that."

She dropped her head onto his shoulder as an act of defeat. There was nothing left to say, but he didn't want to leave her. She closed her eyes but Fang could tell from her uneven breathing that she was still awake. Everything was silent.

The front door squeaked open. Fang immediately became alert; Max lifted her head and opened her eyes. There was a soft click as the door shut, and then footsteps coming down the hall. Fang stood up, tugging Max to her feet. They walked to the door and stood there, listening. The footsteps went past the flock's room and into the kitchen.

"Stay here," said Fang. Max glared at him and shook her head. "Fine," he muttered, and then pushed open the door. They hurried down the hall and into the kitchen.

A man with dark hair was standing with his back to them, going through the refrigerator. His clothing was ragged and dusty, as though he'd come from close to the ruin. He sighed and shut the refrigerator, then turned around, empty-handed. His eyes went wide when he saw Max and Fang. He opened his mouth, but Fang cut him off.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The man laughed easily, but his hand went to his pocket, where Fang could see the handle of a gun. Max noticed it too, and she stepped forward, in front of Fang. He pushed her back instinctively and she stumbled, grabbing his arm for support.

"Don't get yourselves all worked up," said the man steadily, his hand still on his gun. But they'd made enough noise by now to gain someone else's attention.

A door leading into the kitchen opened, and Cat stood there with her hair a complete mess, looking thoroughly tired and not very happy. When she saw the man, her eyes flashed with recognition. She walked into the room at her own leisurely pace.

"Jasper," she said, smiling in a rather twisted fashion. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oh, cliffy… Sorry about that. I apologize for the lack of action lately, but it will get more intense a bit later, I promise. This is much harder for me to write than my other stories, so sorry about how long this took. Next week I have school again, though, so don't expect an incredibly fast update. If you review a lot a might have more motivation. 

Concerning names: I used Jasper because someone recommended it and I liked it. Also, Mel is a nickname for Melvin, a lovely name suggested by FallingisFun. There will be more minor OCs later, but Cat and Jasper are the main ones, I think…

Concerning other stories: I have four chapters of Betrayal posted currently, as the chapters are shorter than these and much easier to write. Since posting the last chapter of this story, I have also put up a new oneshot called Paint My Mind. I would really appreciate it if you guys could check those stories out! Thanks!

Anyway, thanks to my reviewers this week: FangsBestFriend, Jayde3, disneydork, therealme1123, Someone aka Me, FallingisFun, RippedIntoPieces, GoonlaLagoon, senoritasophia13, 14rosestar15, Kristin, Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (?), stewie-for-govenor (x6), and PolkaDotFeathers.


	17. Optimism

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the flock or their ravenous eating habits. I do own the OCs and did _not_, contrary to popular belief, steal the name Jasper from Twilight. I stole it from someone who recommended it to me.

* * *

_A man with dark hair was standing with his back to them. His clothing was ragged and dusty, as though he'd come from close to the ruin. He turned around and opened his mouth, but Fang cut him off._

"_Who are you? What are you doing here?"_

_The man laughed easily, but his hand went to his pocket, where Fang could see the handle of a gun. _

"_Don't get yourselves all worked up," said the man steadily. But they'd made enough noise by now to gain someone else's attention._

_A door leading into the kitchen opened, and Cat stood there looking thoroughly tired and not very happy. When she saw the man, her eyes flashed with recognition. _

"_Jasper," she said, smiling in a rather twisted fashion. "What are you doing here?"_

I tightened with suspicion at her words. How did Cat know this man, and more importantly, why was he pulling a gun on us?

Jasper frowned. "I live here," he said. Fang and I exchanged glances. "Or at least, I _used_ to live here," he continued, shooting a knowing glare at Fang and me. He turned back to Cat. "Looks like you've kicked me out already."

Cat raised her chin. "I told you, if you didn't pay…"

"Cat, I'll get the money, I just…" His voice was less confident now; it had adopted a slightly pleading tone. His dusty hand reached out to grab Cat's. Her eyes softened for a second. "I'll pay you," he said again.

Cat suddenly seemed to realize that she and Jasper were not the only people in the room. She snatched her hand away, agitated again. "Too late," she snapped, pointing at Fang and me. "Meet my new tenants…" Her hand gesticulated in the air, asking us to fill the silence.

"Max," I said, disgusted at the slight shake in my otherwise steely voice.

"Fang." He had apparently abandoned his alter ego, Nick. I remembered how Iggy had teased him and swallowed hard.

"Max and Fang," Cat reiterated, turning back to Jasper, who had adopted a face showing only a hint of hurt. "And don't shoot them just yet, they have the money." Jasper winced at the remark, but slowly slid his hand off his gun.

I breathed a sigh of relief and realized that I was dizzy. Fang was still holding my arm. Colors swam at the edge of my vision. No. Go away. I can't fall apart now.

Cat cleared her throat. "I think you should leave," she told Jasper. He gave a strained sigh and ran a hand through his hair, releasing a sprinkling of black dust. Dust. Death. Hold it together.

"Cat-" Jasper began.

"Now," she said, her tone harsh and biting. He stared at her for a moment, and I watched the silent communication between their glassy eyes. Fang still seemed frozen in place, absorbing as much of the scene as he could. Finally, Jasper blinked and turned away, then shuffled around the wooden table and towards the hall, brushing against me in the process. He left a trail of dust down my tattered sleeve, and I suppressed at shudder at the thought of what it might represent.

Everyone stood still in the kitchen until we heard the door slam. Cat let out a deep breath and raised her shielded eyes to meet ours. "Sorry about that," she said lightly. "I didn't think he'd be back so soon."

"Is he dangerous?" I asked, thinking of the flock, asleep in our room.

Cat looked thoughtful. "Jasper? Not… really." She twisted a lock of hair between two fingers, revealing nails bitten to the quick. Her response was not reassuring.

Fang moved his hand so that it rested just under my neck, between my wings. "I hope you lock the doors," he told Cat in a low voice. She nodded gravely and walked down the hall, her footsteps creaking on the floorboards. When we heard the clink of the lock, Fang and I retreated back down the hall and paused by the door of our room to let Cat pass. Her eyes met mine in the darkness and they were empty, almost black. I shivered, feeling Fang's warm hand on my back.

The flock was still sound asleep as we passed back through the door. Gazzy had rolled over and twisted in his blankets, while Nudge had kicked hers off altogether. Angel was lying exactly where we had left her, and I watched her chest rise and fall with a sense of relief.

"So," I whispered to Fang, as we stepped carefully over their sleeping bodies to reach the empty wall, "what do you think?"

"Not good," he muttered. "Seems kind of unstable. And resents us for taking his place."

"And she wasn't all that convincing when she said he wasn't dangerous." I sunk back into a sitting position, grateful for the solidity of the wall against my back. The world was still spinning, and colors were invading the otherwise black surroundings.

Fang sighed, sitting down next to me. "All in all, not the best of situations." There was a pause. I listened to my flock, breathing in and out. "You okay?" Fang said softly.

"Yeah." I watched the world spin, knowing that it was turning on its axis. The rest of them were crazy _not_ to see it.

* * *

When Nudge woke up, she was hungry. She tried to remember the last time she has eaten, but her memories of the days since the explosion were so blurred together that it was hard to make out individual events. All Nudge knew was that she needed to eat before her stomach lost patience and ate itself. So she opened her eyes.

The room was just as she remembered it: tiny and closed in with yellowing white walls and a creaky floor. Gazzy was awake- she could tell from his breathing- but pretending to sleep. Fang's eyes were darting back and forth, ever protective and alert. Max's eyes, on the other hand, looked almost gray and sunken in. But what surprised Nudge was Angel, who was positioned sitting up, leaning against the wall with her head raised and blue eyes open.

Nudge decided there was no point in delaying her need. "I'm hungry," she said.

Max's eyes closed for a second, then snapped open again. "Okay," she said, her voice scratchy and tired. Gazzy sat up suddenly and nodded his agreement. Even Angel's eyes flickered in recognition. _Me too_, she said, in their heads.

"Okay," Max sighed, sliding her hand up the wall as she rose to a standing position. "Let's go see how much she charges for food."

They made quite a group, trooping into the kitchen like casualties of some brutal war. Fang was still carrying Angel slung over his shoulder, but now she had her head raised and was looking around. Gazzy seemed to be limping; Nudge hadn't noticed that before.

A woman was sitting at this kitchen table, her legs crossed under her on the straight-backed chair. Nudge thought that she had been pretty once, but now she looked more haunted than beautiful. Her blond hair was the consistency of straw with a bit of dust. Her arms seemed almost too long and gangly to belong to this mature person, and when she stood up, her legs were skinny too. She was maybe an inch taller than Max.

"I'm Cassy," she said, surveying the lot of them with a surprised smile. "I heard you guys come in yesterday. Excuse me for not coming out, but I'd only just gotten back in the morning."

Max listed out the name of each flock member, pointing to each of them in turn. Nudge wondered why she wasn't bothering to make up false names, like the other times they'd ventured into civilization. Using their real names made it feel as though this was their last time passing through, their last hope. Added to the rest of the helpless atmosphere, it made Nudge wonder if this was the end.

Her primal instincts overtook these darker thoughts and Nudge shot a quick glance at the refrigerator, imagining it heaping with mouthwatering food. Cassy's brown eyes noticed this action, and she said, "You can get food out of the bottom of the fridge. The stuff on the door is Cat's. As long as you don't eat too much, she won't make you pay extra."

Max nodded and Nudge made a beeline for the fridge, pulling open the white door with anticipation. To her disappointment, most of the food seemed to be either processed or preserved. Cassy laughed, but it wasn't a judgmental action. With movements Nudge would normally associate with a stick figure, the woman walked to another door and twisted the handle, pulling it open and removing several boxes of dried cereal. Nudge's mouth watered.

Cassy set the boxes on the table along with a few plastic bowls. She laughed again as Nudge and Gazzy dove in the table's direction, pulled to the food as though by a magnetic force. The laugh seemed too full and thick to be coming from such a thin person, but Nudge dismissed this thought in favor of more primal ones concerning eating as much cereal as she could in as short a time as possible.

"Thank you," Max told the woman, in one of the humblest tones Nudge had ever heard out of their leader's mouth. Fang set Angel on his lap and poured a bowl for her. Nudge hoped that Angel's motor control had improved enough to chew cereal, but the girl seemed to be improving in leaps and bounds lately. Maybe, Nudge thought, as she returned to stuffing her face, just maybe, things were starting to look up.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Unfortunately for poor little optimistic Nudge, things are not looking up. They are looking down a deep black pit of despair. But more about that later.

I apologize for my absence and for this chapter. I don't like this chapter, but I feel it was necessary. If things go as planned, I will be starting the next chapter very soon because I don't want to leave you with this one for a long period of time. I have plenty of excuses about taking so long, but I don't feel like listing them out any more than you feel like reading them.

If I have not already updated Betrayal, I plan to do so in the very immediate future, so check that out if you've got time. Thanks for reading, sorry about this chapter and how long it took.

Thanks to these people for their reviews: Someone aka Me, Kristin, disneydork, GoonlaLagoon, therealme1123, Jayde3, senoritasophia13, Darkth Atkid, DarkAngels0014, kaylormonkey, Queen of the Mary Sue, 14rosestar15, Lion8520(x2), bbaluver3, and stewie-for-govenor.


	18. Revelation

**Disclaimer: **I own various OCs, but not the flock. They'd probably eat me out of house and home anyways.

* * *

Fang shifted Angel on his lap. He raised a spoonful of cereal, moistened with a carefully rationed amount of milk, and began to move it to her lips, but she turned her head away. Fang sent a questioning thought in her direction.

_Nudge says she'll take me,_ Angel thought back. _She's done eating now and she says you need to deal with Max._

Fang turned his head and saw Nudge looking at him. She nodded. He awkwardly transferred Angel's body onto her lap. Angel's facial expressions, which were much more vivid now, revealed her embarrassment. She had always been independent, even when she was only six. This older Angel resented her obvious weaknesses, Fang could tell.

Nudge had also noticed this, and instead of holding Angel in her lap, she used her free hand to pull up another chair. Fang was surprised at how insightful Nudge was becoming; it was like she'd grown up during the brief period they'd been separated. Or maybe she'd always been like this, and he was only noticing it now. Whenever it had happened, Nudge had grown enough to see through Max's shields as well, not that the older girl was putting much effort into retaining her barriers at the moment.

Max was hunched over the table, twirling a plastic spoon between two fingers. Her eyes appeared to be centered on the spoon, but closer examination showed that they were clouded and unfocused.Her tangled hair was pulled back loosely, with several escaped strands dangling in front of her eyes. Her skin had a grayish tint from the dust that seemed to follow them and her hands were so dry they were cracked. The dried blood had seeped into her skin, staining her palms with dark red.

"Max," said Fang. Her eyes slowly adjusted, coming in and out of focus. She turned her head only slightly in his direction. "You need to eat something."

Max cleared her throat. "I'm not hungry," she whispered, so the stranger across the table couldn't hear. Thankfully, Cassy had not yet made one comment concerning their bedraggled appearances.

Fang copied Max's whisper nonetheless. "You haven't eaten in… God, Max, I don't know how long it's been, but it's been days."

Max eyed the empty bowl in front of her and started turning the spoon in the opposite direction. She avoided Fang's eyes, and frustration built inside of him. Did she _want_ to die?

The subconscious question caught Fang off guard, and he immediately blocked all thoughts not directly applicable to the situation. He lowered his voice even further. "You are having breakfast, end of story." He grabbed a cereal box from across the table and popped open the torn cardboard lid.

Max turned so they were looking right at each other, a sudden intensity claiming her dejected form. "I don't need to be taken care of," she hissed.

Fang kept his tone conversational. "Obviously, you do."

She sighed. "Look, I feel like crap, okay?" Fang responded by shaking the cereal box. She snatched it out of his hands, suddenly angry, and filled maybe a quarter of her bowl with the stale flakes. She shot him an angry glance as she added a splash of milk. Fang didn't allow the relief to show on his face.

She ate slowly, eating only a single flake at a time. The milk moistened her chapped lips, turning them a slightly darker shade of pink. Fang noticed how pale the rest of her face was. She hadn't really slept or eaten in days.

Suddenly, he felt someone watching him. He raised his eyes to look across the table, and there was Cassy, her head turned, concentrating on some unseen thing in the distance. Fang knew she'd been watching them, and it made him worry. No one outside the flock was supposed to see their weaknesses; they even hid it from some of those in the flock. But now only Gazzy seemed truly oblivious, since Nudge had figured it out and Angel was in everyone's minds.

Gazzy. Who knew what was going on in his head? Fang would have to ask Angel sometime soon. The Gasman's friendly matter had completely disappeared in the wake of his best friend's death. In fact, he was avoiding making any contact with anyone at all. It wasn't like Gazzy to be so quiet; it was almost as though he wasn't there at all. Now that he thought about it, Fang missed Gazzy's jovial moods. They would have done wonders to lighten the situation a bit.

Fang watched Max carefully, making sure she at least finished eating the miniscule amount she'd served herself. She was eating more slowly now, as though the sudden nutrients had made her aware of how tired she was. Her elbow rested heavily on the table and she leaned her head against her arm, breathing deeply between bites.

Cassy cleared her throat and Fang looked up suddenly, an instinctive glare dominating his face. The woman's expression was concerned, even a bit frightened, so Fang lessened his gaze, but continued to stare at her. She hesitated, and then spoke. "You're new, right?"

"Yes," said Fang gruffly, watching Max stir her cereal.

"If you don't mind my asking… How new?"

Her prying was starting to make Fang nervous. "Why?"

Cassy looked down at her hands, twining her long fingers together. After a short pause, she looked up and met Fang's eyes. "I'm just trying to help," she insisted. "I'm just asking if you're new enough not.. Not to know how things work around here. That's all."

Fang contemplated the woman's sincerity with a steady gaze. Her eyes darted back and forth between her hands and his face, obviously uncomfortable.

_Be nice, Fang, _came Angel's chiding voice. _She doesn't want to hurt us. _Fang trusted Angel, although it defied his basic instincts to reveal information to a stranger. Then again, they didn't really have much else to lose.

"Fine," said Fang, his voice sounding strained even to his own ears. "We're new. Brand new."

Cassy gave a cautious smile, not sure how he would react. "Would you like me to fill you in?" she questioned.

Max picked her head up, suddenly interested in the conversation. "Yes," she said, her voice stronger than it had been all morning. Nudge turned her head too, her eyes bright and inquisitive.

Cassy surveyed her new audience and took a deep breath. "Okay, well, after the bomb, as you probably know, the government evacuated everyone in the towns around the city. That was the last we've heard from the government. There are rumors about more bombs, but there's no way to tell for sure, so either way we're pretty much on our own."

The flock has always been alone, Fang thought. We've always taken care of ourselves.

Cassy looked around nervously. "Is this good? Did you guys know that already?"

"Keep going," Max prompted.

Cassy swallowed. "We get all our food and clothes and stuff from the scavengers. Pretty much everybody who doesn't rent out their house or something, like Cat does, is a scavenger, myself and Mark included. It's not really as bad as it sounds, for most of us, anyway. We go out into one of the empty towns, it takes days to get there and back, sometimes, and we pick up the most useful things we find, and we bring them back here. We sell them to the head scavenger- he owns a warehouse where he keeps everything- and that's the money we live on."

"And then he sells what you find to everyone else in the town," finished Fang, catching on. Cassy nodded in agreement.

"We don't have to pay as much for provisions, but it's still a lot. It's hard, but it's all there is for us now." Cassy looked around again, still fidgeting.

_It's harder than she says it is, _said Angel, explaining the woman's nerves. _The head scavenger person- she thinks of him as "The Boss" in her head- scares her a little bit. But she's telling the truth. _

"Thank you," said Fang, nodding at Cassy as he stood up. "We'll have to think about it for a while, but I assume you could get one or two of us a job."

"Yes," said Cassy, who finally looked at ease again. "It was nice to meet you. Good luck."

The rest of the flock rose from their seats, all except for Angel, who Fang picked up again. He noticed that Max had eaten only half of what she'd served herself, but it was a start, so he didn't mention it. They trooped to the hall and into their room. Fang set Angel down in a corner, where she could support herself enough to sit. Gazzy sat down next to his sister and they watched each other silently, their faces contorting into expressions occasionally . Fang assumed they were having some sort of nonverbal conversation.

Nudge and Max leaned against the opposite side of the wall. Max slid into a sitting position, leaned her head against the wall,and sighed. Nudge looked concerned, but couldn't hide a hint of excitement as she turned to Fang. "Are you going to do it?" she inquired, her eyes wide. Apparently she hadn't grown up to the point where the idea of "scavengers" didn't excite her.

"I don't know, Nudge. We have to talk about it, and find out if there's anything else we could do."

For a second it seemed as though Nudge was going to open her mouth and start babbling, like she had in the old days. She seemed to struggle with herself, opening and closing her mouth several times, but then remained silent.

"Go find out what Angel and Gazzy are up to," Fang suggested. The look on her face clearly showed that Nudge knew she was being dismissed, but she left all the same. Fang sat down next to Max, close enough to hear her sporadic breathing.

"I'm going to do it," he told her.

"I knew you would," she rasped. Fang had expected her to argue, but she didn't. Instead she rested her head on his shoulder, and he shifted his arm so that it went around her waist. She flinched when his hand brushed against her broken wings.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I personally find this chapter to be much better than the last one, so I hope you guys agree. It was also relatively easy to write, I just had a bit of difficulty wrapping it up, so I did the little sad fax thing, which is how I end things when I don't have any other ideas.

I have the next chapter written in a notebook somewhere, but I still need to type it up and make edits and add things and stuff, so I'll do my best in terms of posting it. As long as you people review, I should be very motivated.

Speaking of reviews, if you could let me know what you think of the OCs when you review this chapter, that would be wonderful. I've considered writing chapters that are semi-OC centric, so if you don't want that, please let me know. I don't want to write something that you don't want to read, so, give me your feelings on that, unless of course you're Kristin, in which case I already know your opinion and you don't have to be so harsh. :)

Thanks to all the great people who reviewed the last chapter: disneydork, therealme1123, Someone aka Me, aradiea(x2), Empathic Hero, bbaluver3, senoritasophia13, punkartgurl13, Kristin, FangsBestFriend(x2) and Taylor.


	19. Progress

**Disclaimer: **I own the warehouse and the batteries! Yay!

* * *

Fang decided that Cassy walked faster than any normal human he'd ever met, not that he'd known a whole lot of them. He could match her pace, of course, but not with the ease he was used to. There was a stiffness that had claimed his muscles, from a mixture of cold and fatigue, that slowed his gait and made his legs ache with effort. He could see the misty clouds of his breath and hear the slight strains in his breathing. Cassy kept her head down and didn't speak, her shoulders hunched under her thick jacket.

Fang had last seen the exterior of the town in the early hours of the morning, but it looked even more defeated in the daylight. If anything, it had lost its mysterious, haunted air and looked merely run down. People in tattered clothing sat with their backs against the fading brick walls, their sunken eyes trailing Fang and Cassy as they hurried down the center of the street. There were no cars on the road, and the parked vehicles by the sidewalk looked unused and were coated with a film of black dust. The pavement was cracked and littered with potholes.

The walk was long, and eventually Fang's body was completely numb from the scathing wind. Finally, Cassy turned towards an old warehouse, her long legs increasing their speed on the final stretch of their journey. She knocked on the peeling red paint of the door, turning back to Fang as she did so. "This is it!" she shouted against the wind.

A man who looked suspiciously like an Eraser in human form opened the door and ushered them inside. Fang knew the Erasers had been wiped out years ago, but that didn't keep a prickle of paranoia from running down his spine, chilling him even further. Something about this town evoked his old fears. The Eraser-man slammed the door shut and locked it, quieting the violent whistling of the wind from outside.

"This is it," Cassy said again, rubbing her hands together to generate warmth. It wasn't much warmer inside the warehouse, but the lack of wind chill was a relief. The place was bare, with high concrete walls and only a few small windows to let in light. The result was a dim, almost spooky atmosphere. As Fang's eyes explored the room further, he took in the huge piles that lined the walls. There were heaps of blankets, unorganized stacks of coats and clothes, canned food, bottled water, a haphazard pile of batteries, and, most alarmingly, a large area of the concrete floor was devoted to firearms.

Cassy watched him with a smile on her face. "Yep, we've got it all," she said. "He won't sell all of it, either. Says he's saving up, in case things get worse." Her smile fell.

"Who's he?" Fang asked, intrigued by this sinister prediction.

Cassy shrugged. "The boss. We don't know his real name. He came from one of the outside cities and took charge when no one else would. We don't ask questions."

A door opened from the back of the room. Fang's eyes flicked to the corner where he could make out a familiar form: lean and dark, with a mess of brown hair. His clothes were dusty. It was the man who had been in Cat's house during the night: Jasper. He seemed to be unhappy, and turned back to whoever was in the room, but was ushered away by another Eraser-like guard. Jasper turned back and stalked across the room towards the door, his face dark with rage.

"Ignore him," Cassy whispered, looking alarmed. "But we can see the boss now." She set off to the door in the back of the room, walking past Jasper with an air of indifference. Fang followed, and made the mistake of glancing at Jasper's face. The man glared back, his eyes searing with what felt like an accusation. But then he was gone, and Cassy was ushering Fang forward. He stepped through the door after her.

The office was bland, but not as much as the rest of the warehouse. The floor was covered with a cheap cream carpet, which, judging by the tracks of mud, had not been the wisest choice of color. The walls were dark green, the paint chipping in places. It was so dark you could hardly see the man sitting at the desk. He was large, slightly overweight, and the silhouette of his face had a distinctly hook-shaped nose. It struck Fang as slightly pathetic that this man- the boss, presumably- needed to shield himself in the darkness like this. It seemed as though a truly effective leader could rule his subjects in the open. But Fang knew better than to voice his judgments out loud.

"Who is this?" asked the man. His voice was smoother than Fang had expected, persuasive. He could see how a man like this could control people.

"This is, uh, Fang," Cassy quavered, stumbling over his name. She seemed genuinely afraid.

The boss laughed, which sounded sounded surprisingly like a dying duck Angel and Gazzy had once tried to rescue in Central Park. "Fang, eh?" he spat. "And that's your real name?"

Fang decided not to dignify this with a response, which only prompted another laugh. He suppressed a shudder at the sound.

"Fine," the boss said lightly. "Fang it is. And I assume he'd like to… help us out?" Fang nodded. "Cassy?" the boss spun in his chair, his voice suddenly biting. Cassy jumped.

"Y-yes?" she stuttered.

"Have you filled him in?" his voice was smooth again, but almost mocking.

"Yes," Cassy said again, her tone stronger as she composed herself. Fang felt a pang of sympathy for the woman's obvious humiliation.

"Alright," said the boss, his voice becoming brusque and rough as he turned to Fang. "Just to make sure she didn't leave anything out, here are the basics. You go off to the empty cities. You take all the leftover stuff. You bring it back; you give it to me. You _don't_ keep it for yourself. Ever. Got it?"

The question was so sudden that Fang answered immediately. "Yes."

"So it can talk," the boss noted, and then laughed at his own joke. Cassy giggled nervously, but stopped when the man shot her a searing glare. He continued. "You bring the stuff to me, and I pay you for it, and you get a discount on anything you want to buy. And if you ever try to sneak something off for yourself without the middleman, my guards will rip your limbs off. Got it?"

"Got it," Fang replied quickly, but kept his voice calm. He seriously doubted any human's ability to mutilate his limbs.

"Good," said the boss, then continued to stare at Fang. His face was still concealed by the dark. Fang didn't look away, and finally the other man did.

"Cassy," he barked suddenly, as though to regain the authority he had lost during the staring match. She didn't jump this time, but nodded at her name. "You here for money?" the boss asked.

"Please," Cassy said, trying to sound casual.

The boss's gaze flicked back to Fang. "Out," he ordered. "And I expect you to have some goods for me by the end of the week. I don't care which city you go to, as long as bring a good amount back."

Fang nodded and left the room, catching Cassy's miserable gaze as he exited.

* * *

After Fang left with Cassy, I sat in the corner and closed my eyes, trying to fight off and inevitable headache. But in our current accommodations, there was no such thing as privacy.

"Max?" Nudge's voice encouraged another shot of pain, which rippled through my skull. I winced.

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk to you? Me and Gazzy and Angel?" She sounded uncertain.

"Of course," I said, inhaling deeply and then slowly letting the breath out with a hiss of air. When I opened my eyes, the three of them were watching me. Did they expect me to get up and come to them? Of course they did; Angel was practically comatose. I mentally slapped myself for being so self-centered and stood up slowly, my legs aching.

A wave of dizziness overcame me temporarily and I swayed, then stumbled, catching myself against the wall. The flocks' eyes widened as they watched me slowly make my way to the opposite corner. I was not looking forward to this discussion, as I wasn't quite feeling up to explaining my condition. It was bad enough with Fang watching my every move, the younger ones shouldn't have to worry.

Nudge opened her mouth, thought better of it, and then shut it again. There was a brief pause, during which the three of them stared at me, seemingly unable to comprehend the situation. Then Nudge cleared her throat.

"Max?" she asked timidly.

"Yes?" I smiled to encourage her.

This seemed to give her all the confidence she needed. "We want to help," she blurted out matter-of-factly. Gazzy nodded vigorously.

I attempted to wrap my mind around this. "You are helping," I said, even though it wasn't really true. What could they do?

_Hey_, said Angel in my head, clearly offended.

_Sorry_, I thought, but I was relieved that they weren't worried about me. I felt self-centered again and dismissed the thought. Out loud, I said, "We're all just trying to get through this, one step at a time. There isn't much anyone can do except help when they're needed and do their best to stay positive."

"No, Max," said Gazzy. This was the first I'd heard from him in a while. It was good to hear his voice again, even if he was deliberately disobeying me. But that was what Gazzy did, after all. "We want to get money to buy food and stuff. Like Fang." His blue eyes were wide as he stared at me, pleading.

"You want to…" And then it dawned on me. They wanted to be scavengers. I imagined them flying off one their own into the darkness, leaving me behind. "No," I said firmly. "No. And that's all I'm saying."

"Why not?" he whined. "We're old enough, we can go together-"

"We're not splitting up again." I interrupted.

"But Max…" Nudge protested.

"It's bad enough to let Fang go off, but we need that. I'm not sending you off when I don't need to. We need to stay together right now."

Nudge looked pensive and nodded thoughtfully, but Gazzy was still adamant. "I want to-" He suddenly went silent. I immediately looked at Angel. Her eyes were fixed on Gazzy's with a concentrated look. Nudge and I shared a quick, worried glance. I thought of scolding Angel, but couldn't summon the energy for another argument.

Angel squinted tightly, and then her face relaxed. Gazzy's eyes lost their anger and he slumped back against the wall. My breath caught in my throat, but then he took an audible breath and his eyelids fluttered.

"Angel?" Nudge squeaked, nervous. "Wha- What did you do?"

_He's calm now_, she assured us. He voice sounded pained inside my head. _But my head hurts now._

_You rest a while_, I thought. She nodded and closed her eyes. Gazzy was slumped against the wall, 'calm' being a bit of an understatement. Nudge bit her lip and looked at me, worried. "Max," she said, and it wasn't quite a question. It was more like a plea.

"It'll get better, Nudge," I said, reaching out to pat her hand. She nodded, still biting her lip. She opened her mouth, her breath catching in her throat.

"I was just thinking-" she broke off, looking confused. "I don't know how to say it."

"I never thought the day would come," I joked. Nudge laughed, but without feeling. "It'll be okay," I said again, but I didn't really believe it.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Okay… I know. I didn't update. I'm sorry. But I don't really have an excuse either. I decided I didn't like the chapter I already had written, because it was all about Cat and it really wasn't as good as I thought it was when I initially wrote it. So I didn't post it. You don't want to read it, trust me. So really, I did you a favor.

Okay, that was a bad excuse. But I update. I hope you didn't all forget about me. I'm going to try to write a bit more tomorrow, and maybe get a chapter of Betrayal up, since I haven't really been inspired to write that lately. But I can always force inspiration.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: bbaluver3, therealme1123, Someone aka Me, senoritasophia13, disneydork, Yunahampton, hocky-iz-fun (x7), Jayde3, dreamsarefordaytime. 14rosestar15, FallingisFun, and Kristin. I am not thanking SavetheFlock because I do not appreciate spam, thank you very much. You've got a good cause and all, but why don't you spam on the forums, where people will be happy about it?

So… If you didn't like this chapter, as it is slightly bland, I apologize, but coming up is some depressing fax. Yay!


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